The Curse
by Brenna R. Ollivander
Summary: (Working title, need suggestions) Ron returns to Hogwarts for his fifth year, and discovers that he might have to be the hero for a change. Please review!
1. The Year Begins

Please do note that all HP characters are property of JK Rowling. The character Brenna and any other unrecognized names are property of ME (excluding any student that was mentioned only once in the real story)!!!!!

Chapter One  
  
The Year Begins  
  
"Ohayo, Harry!" exclaimed a tiny girl with extremely long, dull, black hair.  
Harry Potter stopped climbing onto the school train long enough to look at the girl who'd called his name. She had tan skin, pointed ears that held many tiny hoops, and three diagonal scars across her right cheek as well as one in the shape of an 'X' across her nose. She was waving a heavily, silver ring-claded hand in his direction. Harry gave the girl a half smile.  
"Hello, Nyx," replied Harry as he stepped off the step he was on. "How was your summer?"  
"Horrible as usual," said Nyx, "I was locked in the Ministry of Magic building, like I have been for every other summer. I'm glad to back here, away from all those official people breathing down my neck."  
"Yeah, but if you don't keep out of trouble then they'll be back in no time."  
Just then the huge whistle of the train alerted Harry to what time it was. "We'd better get onto the train," he said.  
"Oh, Harry dear," said a familiar voice. Mrs. Weasley came up behind Harry clutching a scarlet and gold scarf. "You left your scarf at the house. I've only just Appearated to return it to you," said Mrs. Weasley, "Wouldn't want you to get cold."  
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry. Immediately she wrapped Harry up in one of her motherly hugs he found so comforting.  
"Have a good school term, and remind Fred and George to stay out of trouble for me!" she said.  
"I will," replied Harry as he and Nyx finally boarded the train. As he watched Mrs. Weasley wave up at them, Harry swore he saw the old wand shop keeper from Diagon Alley, Mr. Ollivander, waving his good-byes at a window only feet away from were Mrs. Weasley was.  
"Hey! That looks like Mr. Ollivander. I wonder why he's here?" asked Harry, pressing his nose against the window in order to get a better look.  
"I think you're seeing things," said a red haired, long nosed boy beside Harry.  
"Ron, I swear I saw him," said Harry to the boy.  
"Yeah, just like you saw a raven following you around over the summer," replied Ron, "Come on you two, Hermione and I've saved us a compartment all to ourselves."  
Harry pushed his queries out of his mind and he and Nyx followed Ron down the corridor to the train compartment.  
  
After the long train ride to Hogwarts, the students boarded the horseless carriages that would take them up to the school. By the time they got there, everyone was extremely hungry. The griping was mostly coming from the boys, who seemed to have bottomless pits for stomachs.  
"Man, I'm hungry!" exclaimed Ron as they stepped off the carriage.  
"Be patient," said Hermione as she stepped off after Ron did, "We have to wait until the Sorting Ceremony is over. Besides, didn't you eat enough on the train?"  
"But I'm hungry too," said Harry looking up at the clear night sky, "Maybe we should have saved some pumpkin pasties or some cauldron cakes."  
"Yeah," said Ron wistfully.  
"I'm hungrier than the both of you," said Nyx, rubbing her stomach.  
"You're always hungry," pointed out Harry.  
"Well, waddia know! I guess you're right!" Nyx ran all the way up to the castle with Harry, Ron, and Hermione looking on.  
"Looks like she's ready to cause trouble already," sighed Hermione.  
"I give her five days," said Ron out of the corner of his mouth to Harry. Harry nodded in agreement and the whole school migrated towards the castle.  
  
Soon everyone was seated at the appropriate table inside the Great Hall. Harry, Ron, and Hermione spotted their friends Wolfe and Thursday as they waved at them from across the Hall from Slytherin house table and waved back at them. They took a seat at their own house table amongst their old Gryffindor friends.  
"How was your summer, Harry?" asked Neville Longbottom as they settled into their seats.  
Harry scoffed. "As good a summer as anyone can have when you're hiding from Voldemort," he replied.  
Everyone within three feet of Harry flinched at the name.  
"Don't say his name!" hissed Ron. Harry rolled his eyes.  
Before anything else was said, Dumbledore stood up from his chair at the high table and smiled down upon the students. Immediately everyone quieted down. "Welcome back to Hogwarts everyone!" said Dumbledore, his voice was as cheerful as usual, "This year, will hopefully be one that we can all enjoy, apart from all that's happening outside of the school this very minute. As soon as Professor McGonagall arrives with the new first years, we can start the Sorting ceremony and I will give out more formal announcements," replied Dumbledore.  
Suddenly the doors of the Great Hall opened and the first year students walked on inside in a tight cluster, some looked excited, others looked frightened or nervous.  
"Ah! Speak of the devil!" said Dumbledore with his eyes twinkling.  
Professor McGonagall walked forward with a young girl at her side. The girl in question looked to be a fifth year with long brunette hair with a small piece hanging in front of her face. Her skin was pale from lack of summer sun, and she had a timid look on her face as she looked out over everyone. Judging by the blank robes that hung slightly baggy on her thin frame, the only conclusion was she was a transfer student for another school.  
"Ah, yes. Everyone I would like you to welcome Miss Brenna Ollivander to her first year at Hogwarts school. She just moved in and will be joining her fifth year class as soon as she is sorted. Since she is the oldest obviously, and our guest for the evening, she will be sorted first."  
"Ah ha!" said Harry, "I knew I saw Mr. Ollivander at the train station!"  
"I guess you were right, Harry," said Ron, "He must have been dropping off his daughter."  
"Mr. Ollivander is too old for a daughter to be that young," said Hermione, "She would have to be at least his granddaughter."  
The young girl's face had flushed with color as she looked out over all the people who were staring at her. Professor McGonagall showed the young girl the stool after she removed the sorting hat and had Brenna sit down. The sorting hat was set on her head and everyone waited in silence to hear what it would yell out. After many seconds, the patched and frayed Sorting Hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"  
A table in the center of the room clapped wildly welcoming their new companion. After the hat was removed from Brenna's head, Brenna nervously walked over to the table but was quickly invited over to sit down by Padma and Cho. Once that was over the first years were called up by name and each sat nervously on the stool waiting for the hat to tell them which house they were going to be in. Soon every student had a place and Dumbledore stood again to give some more of his announcements.  
"This is going to be a new year not just for the first years. The classes have been changed around a bit, so instead of a single house going to a class together, the houses will be broken up so everyone can get to know others and create new and lasting friendships," Dumbledore said. Ron mocked him by moving his mouth to the words but Hermione elbowed him in the side to make him quit.  
"Secondly we have a new teacher, Mr. Vincent Leonhart. He will be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."  
It was then that the students noticed the new teacher in their mists as he stood to his feet behind the table lined with professors. He had been sitting next to Snape, and Snape looked less than pleased. Apparently because he had lost the job he so wanted once again for the fourth year running.  
By looking at the new professor, right off from his appearance, he could be nothing other than an elf. His had slightly pointed ears, fair skin, light emerald green eyes, and long blonde-white hair that was slightly pulled back into a braid with some hair hanging loosely underneath behind his back. His clothes were made up of black robes covered by a dark green cloak held together by a silver laurel leaf fashioned eloquently with slender vines. His age could not be told but he looked to be in his early twenties.  
"Now that everyone has been properly introduced, I think it's time that we eat!" said Dumbledore with a wave of his hand. The house tables blossomed with magnificent foods and immediately everyone dug into them happily.  
"Yum," said Nyx through a mouthful of food.  
"Yum is right!" exclaimed Ron.  
"You know, that new girl looked awfully nervous," commented Harry as he cut into his steak.  
"Who wouldn't be? It's her first day of school and everything," said Hermione.  
"You're right."  
"Hey, are you going to eat that?" asked Nyx hungrily as she pointed at the rolls on Harry's plate.  
"Yes I am," said Harry.  
Nyx growled at him, revealing a pair of pointed canines.  
"Calm down! It's just food!" said Ron.  
"Yeah, and here's a crumpet," said George Weasley. He held up the curved bread for her to see.  
"Yuck, too healthy," said Nyx.  
Everyone began laughing, which pushed the new girl out of their minds. When the main course was finished and the deserts appeared, all anyone could think about was the sugar rush they would get from all the cakes, pies and puddings laid out before them. And when it was all over, they were all happy to get up to their dormitories and sleep.

Chapter one. 'Nough said.


	2. The Breakfast Club

Please do note that all HP characters are property of JK Rowling. The character Brenna and any other unrecognized names are property of ME (excluding any student that was mentioned only once in the real story)!!!!!  
  
P.S. I try to write some French in this story. I warn you all now that my French really sucks.  
  
Chapter Two  
  
The Breakfast Club  
  
"Hey, Brenna!" called Padma Patil, "Wake up!"  
Brenna Ollivander lazily rolled over and pulled the covers over her face. It didn't matter to her that this was the first day of classes in her new school. She thought moving from her parent's comfortable home to her grandfather's flat above his shop was hard. She suddenly decided that this was just too much to take.  
Just when she was setting back to sleep, the blankets were pulled roughly from her bed, leaving behind a messy, tangled brunette mess on Brenna's head. Brenna, now fully awake, glared at her.  
"Just because I was nice to you last night doesn't mean you have the right to pull the blankets off my bed!" said Brenna sarcastically. Padma giggled.  
"You said I might have to do that to wake up in the mornings!" replied Padma, throwing the blankets back at Brenna. She walked to the open trunk in front of her bed and pulled out her Hogwarts robes, a white-collar shirt, grey sweater and skirt, grey and blue tie, white knee socks, and shoes.  
Grumpily, Brenna sat up and sat on the edge of her bed. She was right. The night before at the Welcoming Feast after being sorted into Ravenclaw house, she'd met Padma, who was a fifth year like her. She had welcomed Brenna warmly, and immediately introduced her to her friends, fifth years Mandy Brocklehurst, Terry Boot, and sixth year Cho Chang, whom was also a prefect.  
She grumpily reached over to her nightstand for her hairbrush when she noticed the time. She'd have to get a shower soon, before breakfast ended and classes started.  
"Hurry!" said Padma, fastening the buttons on her skirt.  
"I've got to get a shower, I'll meet you down there," Brenna said, getting up off her bed and reaching for her robe.  
"Ok," said Padma buttoning her black robes with the Ravenclaw house crest embroidered on the right side, "See you at breakfast." Brenna left the room and headed for the showers. Padma slipped on her shoes and joined the rest of the Ravenclaws in the common room.  
  
Around forty five minutes later, Brenna entered the Great Hall showered, fully clothed in her Hogwarts uniform, and sporting a particularly large backpack over her shoulder. She scanned the room nervously, trying to remember which of the four tables was the Ravenclaw table. Just as she was beginning to panic, she spotted Padma waving at her from the third table from the left. Brenna signed with relief as she adjusted the weight of her backpack and headed towards her newfound friends.  
"Hello, Brenna! " said the prefect Cho Chang cheerfully. Brenna smiled as she slipped into the seat next to Padma.  
"Good morning," said Brenna quietly, tucking a strand of her long and thin brunette hair behind her ear.  
"So," said Terry Boot as she dished out some porridge onto her plate, "How was your first night at Hogwarts?" Brenna cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips in thought (as she often did). Finally, she shrugged her shoulders.  
"It was ok," replied Brenna as she chose a few juicy sausage links from the platter and dished out her own helping of porridge, "It was a bit difficult to adjust to, but I can manage."  
"What school did you transfer from?" asked Mandy Brocklehurst curiously.  
"Beauxbatons."  
"Are your mum and dad French?" asked Terry through a mouthful of food.  
"No. They spoke it quite fluently, but they were from Hertfordshire."  
"Can you speak French?" asked Cho.  
"Oui, c'est une tres langue beau."  
"Neato!" exclaimed Padma, "Where do you live now?"  
"In a flat above Ollivander's Wand Shop with my grandfather," Brenna in a sharp tone that clearly suggested that the topic of discussion was officially closed. There was a slight tension that hung in the air after Brenna's last statement, and the table grew quiet.  
After a few moments of hearing only the sounds of people chewing and of spoons and forks clanging against the sides of the bowls, Terry broke the tension by introducing a new subject. "I had to buy a new wand this summer," she said.  
Padma laughed. "Why this time?"  
"Because it broke, duh!"  
"You break your wand every summer!" said Mandy. Cho giggled politely behind her hand.  
"So?"  
"So! What did you do this time?" asked Padma.  
"Well, I was trying to transfigure a spoon into a mirror and when it didn't work I threw my wand at the wall and it cracked in half."  
Padma snickered. "That's nothing like last years excuse!"  
Brenna gave Terry a puzzled expression. "Last years excuse?" she asked.  
Terry gave everyone her best innocent look. "I swear! I thought it was firewood!" she said, "I didn't mean to put it into the fire underneath my cauldron. Although that definitely would explain why the fire magically almost burned down my house. . ."  
  
Hysterical, yet friendly, laughter broke out within the group, even leaving Brenna reduced to seemingly endless chuckles.  
As they began to settle down, Cho removed her schedule from an inside pocket in her robes and began to examine it. "When do you have a study hall, Terry?" Cho asked, "I have it after lunch today."  
"I don't have one until Thursday after lunch," said Terry groaning, "Today I have Charms after lunch."  
Padma's eyes lit up. "So do I!" said Padma. Then she turned towards Brenna. "Lemme see your schedule!"  
Brenna bent over her backpack and pulled out a crisply folded piece of paper. She sat up straight and handed it to Padma who hastily opened it. After quickly scanning it, Padma grabbed her own schedule out of the inside pocket of her robes and compared it to Brenna's.  
"How about that!" said Padma, "We have Charms, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures together!" Brenna tentatively took her schedule back from Padma. "Too bad you don't have Potions with any of us."  
"Ugh," said Mandy, taking a look at Brenna's schedule, "And right after breakfast too!"  
"Curse this new scheduling!" exclaimed Terry as she shook her fist at the enchanted ceiling. Brenna raised an eyebrow at her.  
"The houses used to go to classes together," said Cho," This year, they decided to split us up."  
"Yeah, so we can 'create new and lasting friendships with other students'," said Mandy rolling her eyes, "Dumbledore announced it at the end of last year. Personally, I think this is just a way to make the Muggle- borns feel more at home."  
"It's not so bad, really," said Cho.  
"Yeah, and besides YOU'RE Muggle-born," said Padma.  
"I know!" said Mandy, "I never said I was against it."  
"I like it too," Terry chimed in, "especially since there's this cute Hufflepuff boy I've had my eye on."  
Everyone, except for Cho who only managed to smile weakly, began to laugh again. Brenna began to feel her anxiety melt away. These girls had made her feel right at home, and she was sure she was going to have a great year. Brenna suddenly looked at her watch and saw they only had ten minutes left until classes started.  
"We'd better hurry up," said Padma, who had also taken a glance at her watch. The girls quickly finished up their breakfast and stuffed a few things in their pockets to munch on in class (when the teachers weren't looking, of course) before heading off in their separate ways.  
  
So, how'd y'all like my very first Harry Potter fan fiction? I hope to have the third chapter finished soon. Pleez review!!! 


	3. Potions and Demons

Please do note that all HP characters are property of JK Rowling. The characters of Nyx, Brenna, and any other unrecognized names are property of Denise G., and ME (excluding any Hogwarts student only mentioned once in the real story)!!!!!  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Potions and Demons  
  
Brenna stared blankly at her schedule. She had to go to Potions class and had absolutely no idea how to get to the dungeons. Brenna suddenly wished she had asked one of the girls how to get there. She sighed as she wondered down a flight of stairs and shivered at the temperature change.  
Finally, after walking down an endless hallway, Brenna reached a door that seemed like her last hope. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Inside, all the students turned away from their cauldrons and faced Brenna. She gulped as she slid into the room, causing the door to slam.  
"Ah, you must be Miss Ollivander."  
Brenna's eyes darted around the room in fear, looking for the owner of the voice. "Well, are you?" the voice asked. Brenna watched as Professor Snape stood up and propped himself up on his desk with a sour look on his face. At that, Brenna quickly nodded.  
Seeing the fear in her face, Snape gave her a sinister half smile. "Please take a seat as well as five points from Ravenclaw," he replied as he designated the empty seats with his now outstretched arm. Brenna quickly slipped into the first empty seat she saw. It was two stations away from Snape's desk and a girl with long black hair occupied the seat to the left.  
  
"You all already know my class policy," replied Snape, walking out from behind his desk, "Now that you are all fifth years, the potions we create in here will be more difficult and intricate. Therefore, it will require intelligence. That means no fooling around. . . "  
Suddenly there was a cough that sounded quite remarkably like 'Nyx'. Brenna turned curiously and saw a boy with white blond, slicked back hair chuckling with two others boys who looked positively mean. The girl sitting next to Brenna quickly stood up, but just as she stood up, Snape stopped a possible fight by saying, "That's ENOUGH, Miss Black!" Fuming, the girl sat back down. "Continuing on," replied Snape, "Most of you realize this is one day closer to taking your O.W.L.'s and I will NOT tolerate failure on the Potions part of the exam. So, every last one of you will pay strict attention and come to class on time." His eyes flashed towards Brenna as he said this. Brenna blushed and sank slightly in her seat  
"Now, I'm going to write the recipe for this potion on the chalkboard. You will be working the entire class period." With that, Snape quickly charmed a piece of chalk and it immediately jumped to life and began to write on the board. As the charmed chalk wrote, Snape prowled around the classroom, correcting students as he went.  
All the students began setting up their cauldrons and getting out their potion kits that had been stored under their workstations. Just as Brenna fearfully realized hers was still sitting in her trunk, someone asked, "Wanna use my cauldron today?"  
Brenna turned to her left to face the owner of that voice. The girl, Brenna noticed, had long black hair, tanned skin, pointed ears, three mauve scars across her right cheek and a mauve scar in the shape of an 'X' that lay across her nose. Brenna also noticed that her ears were adorned with several small hoops that went all the way up her ear lobe. She sat on a stool, holding out her cauldron. "Sure," said Brenna nervously. The girl smiled and set up her cauldron and got out her potion kit  
As Brenna conjured a fire beneath the cauldron, the girl spoke again, "My name is Nyx Black." Brenna once again turned towards her and saw that Nyx's hand was stuck out in greeting.  
"My name is Brenna Ollivander," Brenna replied as she accepted Nyx's hand. As Nyx gave Brenna a strong handshake, Brenna winced from where Nyx's many rings pinched her fingers.  
"I bet you're in Ravenclaw," said Nyx. Brenna looked at her with awe.  
"How'd you guess?" asked Brenna. Nyx picked up her wand and jabbed at the Ravenclaw house crest on Brenna's robes. Brenna crinkled her nose in disappointment. "Oh."  
"That and Snape already said it when he took five points," replied Nyx, "I'm in Gryffindor." She pointed at the intricate gold and scarlet embroidery on her own Hogwarts robes. Suddenly, the girls felt a shadow come over them. They looked up and saw Snape's looming figure standing over them, sneering.  
"I trust you girls will be starting your colouring potion soon," replied Snape as he pointed lazily to the half-filled chalkboard behind him.  
"Yes, of course," stuttered Brenna. Nyx gave her cauldron a sideways glance.  
"Aye, aye sir!" said Nyx stupidly as she gave Snape a salute. Snape quickly turned and walked away, scowling. "That stupid bloke thinks he's so intimidating!" said Nyx disgustedly. Brenna said nothing as she began to pull out a piece of parchment, a quill and an inkbottle. Nyx looked at her curiously. "What are you doing?" said Nyx as Brenna began to write.  
"Taking notes," replied Brenna. Nyx gave her a look that clearly that clearly questioned the ludicrous idea of taking notes before shaking her head.  
"We don't need notes. I know what I'm doing."  
Brenna watched the charmed chalk zoom across the room to write down the remainder of the recipe on another chalkboard. "Are you sure?" she asked as she laid down her quill.  
"Positive!" With that, Nyx began unloading her potion supplies. Most of what she was taking out of her kit appeared to be in the potion recipe so Brenna, sighing, decided to trust this girl. Mostly since she didn't really feel up to arguing.  
As Nyx went to work, it indeed looked as though she had been truthful. Everything she was doing, Brenna noticed, was exactly how the recipe said it should be done. Brenna relaxed as she helped Nyx measure out frog's blood and cut cattails. But as she watched Nyx pour in salamander plasma, Brenna noticed she had poured in a little too much and began to feel uneasy again.  
"Are you really sure that you know what you're doing?" asked Brenna as she watched Nyx measure out some powered lizard claws (Wasn't it supposed to be crushed spider legs? pondered Brenna).  
"Yes, I'm sure," said Nyx offhandedly as she carefully put in two cormorant feathers. The boy with the white blond hair suddenly walked past Brenna and Nyx's station.  
"You'd better watch yourself, Newgirl," replied the boy spitefully, "You may end up with some new shoes."  
"Stuff it, Malfoy!" exclaimed Nyx as she stirred the potion, "Or do I have to give you another visit to the hospital wing?"  
"Idle threats!" said the boy. Although he looked quite confident with his manner, a hint of worry was in his voice from Nyx's last comment. He then turned and walked away.  
"That was Draco Malfoy," said Nyx, "He's a real pain in the ass. . . ."  
Suddenly without warning, the potion began to bubble uncontrollably. Brenna fearfully watched as the potion began to bubble over the sides of the cauldron. Nyx, however, happily clapped her hands.  
"Brilliant!" replied Nyx. Then the potion suddenly exploded and drenched both her and Brenna. Within seconds everything the potion touched began to change colour. It looked as though the potion worked, except that instead of one colour, there were at least five different ones, and each one was a bright fluorescent colour. Both Brenna and Nyx now had multicoloured hair, tye-dyed robes, and speckled hands and faces.  
Brenna stared astonishingly at herself. "WHAT IS THE MEAING OF THIS?!" yelled an extremely angry Snape. Brenna looked up to see a multicoloured Snape standing next to their fluorescent workstation.  
"Looks kinda like our potion exploded," said Nyx cheerfully. Brenna put her head in her hands. This was not how she planned on starting the new school year.  
"If you had paid attention," seethed Snape, "You would know that it takes a counter-potion to reverse this catastrophe, whether or not you did it right!" Brenna's eyes opened wide with terror. Nyx, on the other hand, crossed her legs and smirked up at Snape. "I will be able to create a potion to reverse this but you shall not receive it for whatever time I deem you worthy of it. This is your punishment, so DO NOT TRY TO COVER IT UP!"  
Nyx yawned exaggeratedly. "Is that the best you can do?"  
"I can make it worse you little demon!" Snape growled.  
"I'm only part demon, remember?"  
An infuriated Snape reached into his robes as if to pull out his wand, but thought better of it and walked into his office, still fuming. The class burst into laughter as Malfoy once again walked over to their workstation.  
"Looks like you've done it again, Nyxie," said Malfoy. Nyx jumped up and pounced on Malfoy, grabbing him by the collar of his robes.  
"Stuff it, Malfoy" growled Nyx through clenched teeth. This time, Malfoy laughed heartily as he pulled away from Nyx and returned to his seat. "I swear, that boy is going to get the crap beat out of him the next time I see him on a broom! And Snape, ha! Thinks he can threaten me. Can't even give a proper punishment!"  
"That's what you think," replied Brenna bitterly as she stared into her spotted hands.  
Nyx gave Brenna a meaningful apologetic look. "Sorry I dragged you into trouble."  
Brenna once again said nothing as she looked away from Nyx and sighed sadly. She spent the remainder of the class taking notes and hiding her face from the rest of the classmates.  
  
Well, there was chapter two. Took me forever to update. I thought Nyx would be an interesting character to introduce: extremely brave and openly Potions illiterate. We'll find out more about her as the story goes on. Please review!!! 


	4. Stepping On a Lump

Please do note that all HP characters are property of JK Rowling. The characters of Nyx, Brenna, and any other unrecognized names are property of Denise G., and ME (excluding any Hogwarts student only mentioned once in the real story)!!!!!  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Stepping on a Lump  
  
Wednesday afternoon, Brenna stealthily ran into the Great Hall. Now that she could easily distinguish the Ravenclaw table from all the others, Brenna easily made her way to her house's table as people stared momentarily at her now pure white hair. She slipped quietly into the seat next to Padma.  
"Hey!" said Padma, "What's up?"  
"Nothing," said Brenna nervously as she leaned over the table to grab some food, "Listen, I'm just gonna grab something to eat and head back to the common room to . . ."  
"Oh no you don't!" exclaimed Terry, grabbing Brenna's robes and pulling her back into the seat, "You're eating with us today!"  
"No one notices your hair anymore," said Mandy. Suddenly, an explosion of laughter came from the Slytherin table. Terry, Mandy, Cho, and Brenna turned to see a certain Slytherin with white blonde hair doing dramatic impressions of an exploding cauldron and an imitation of the expression on Brenna's face when Snape gave her and Nyx detention.  
"Yes they do," said Brenna sulkily as another wave of laughter fell over the Slytherin table, and Malfoy gave her a look of triumph. Brenna looked away.  
"Well, at least it stopped changing colours," said Cho.  
"At least!"  
Padma shook her head. "Well, too bad! You're eating here from now on!" she said. Brenna pouted as she began to fill up her plate.  
"Who did you say it was sitting next to you in your Potions class?" asked Mandy.  
"I never actually said," replied Brenna, "but it was Nyx Black."  
"Oh, I know who that is!" exclaimed Terry, "She came to Hogwarts our second year. She was real quiet, and then there was this incident with the Weasley twins and she suddenly, broke out of her shell!"  
"What incident?" asked Brenna, her head swimming with names she didn't recognize.  
Brenna, Mandy, and Cho leaned in closer, although Cho wasn't usually into gossip. "Well, from what I know, one day they were talking to her and something George said to Nyx made her sock him right in the stomach!" replied Terry.  
"I wonder what he said to her?" wondered Cho aloud.  
"I don't know the answer to that," said Terry, "but she's definitely not all human. She's told anything that will stand still long enough that she's part demon, but what the other part is, it's still a mystery. And her father, is none other than the outlaw Sirius Black!" The girls all gasped with fear as Terry crossed her arms over her chest and puffed up proudly.  
"Can Nyx really hurt anyone?" asked Mandy fearfully.  
"Only if you cross her path," replied Padma.  
Brenna sighed. "Nothing good happens to me!" she whined.  
"What else could have possibly gone wrong?"  
"My schedule has just been upturned!"  
"You must be the new addition that Professor McGonagall was talking to me about!" said Cho, "She told me that she had added a new student to her class list for Advanced Transfiguration."  
"Yeah, I now have an extra Transfiguration class. Professor McGonagall had to send for my new Transfiguration textbook from Flourish and Blotts."  
Suddenly, Padma chimed in. "Don't you guys get that extra break after class for homework?" she asked.  
Cho nodded. "Yes, its purpose is mostly for us to complete our assignments, but unfortunately, most of us don't use it for that."  
"Well, that could be the perfect time to show Brenna around the school," said Padma, "You know, make her feel more at home."  
"Brilliant idea!" replied Mandy, "You guys could go to the library. . ."  
". . .or the owlery!" replied Terry, "I bet you'd like to know where your owl sleeps!"  
"Yes," said Brenna uncertainly, munching on a cheese sandwich.  
"It's settled then," said Cho.  
Brenna cracked a shadow of a smile. She swallowed the last of her sandwich and started to take another one. But she suddenly felt several pairs of eyes on her, even though it was all in her imagination. She dropped the sandwich hurriedly.  
"I'm sorry, I have to go!" squeaked Brenna. She scooped up her things and ran out of the Great Hall, leaving behind three very bewildered friends.  
  
Brenna ran all the way down the corridor to the Defense Against the Darks Arts classroom. Gasping for air, she leaned against the wall. She brushed a waist length strand of pure white hair out of her face, and was suddenly reminded of her conversation with Snape that occurred right before lunch:  
She was walking cautiously down the corridor down to the Great Hall. Finally, she felt like no one was looking just at her abnormality. She was only a few meters away from the door when a thin hand on her shoulder stopped her. Fear leapt into Brenna's as she turned to face Professor Snape. He pulled her closer to the wall and once again he could easily make a determination of her fear, and he smiled a very sarcastic smile.  
"The potion is ready," he said. Brenna, almost forgetting her fear, began to smile.  
"That's great!" she replied, "Let's go get it now. I'd hate to bother you during the middle of class. . ."  
"Just one minute, Miss Ollivander," said Snape vindictively, "I distinctly remember telling you would receive the potion when I felt you deserved it." Brenna's fear returned as she sputtered, trying to come up with the perfect disagreement for that. "You shall get the potion after class, along with Miss Black. I don't really think you've had the punishment long enough already, but Professor Dumbledore insists I give it to you."  
Snape turned and left for the Great Hall, and Brenna was about to do the same when the white blonde haired boy stepped in front of her path of travel.  
"I definitely haven't gotten enough of this," drawled Malfoy, "If fact," - he took a hold of a stray stand of Brenna's hair and tugged it slightly, making Brenna wince - "I have definitely enjoyed watching you suffer."  
"Please, leave me alone," Brenna whispered softly as a single tear fell down her cheek.  
Malfoy leaned in closer, pinning Brenna to the wall. "On the contrary," he whispered huskily, wiping away Brenna's tear, "I plan on being with you for a while." With that, he walked into the Great Hall. It took Brenna a moment or two to regain her composure before she ran into the Great Hall.  
  
Brenna felt like crying again when she entered the empty Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She scanned the room looking of the perfect seat and chose one in the very back. On her way to the seat, Brenna tripped over a lump in the floor.  
A body to be precise.  
"Ow!" exclaimed the lump.  
Brenna gasped and jumped back in surprise. The body stood up and dusted of its robes. "I am very sorry!" said Brenna apologetically, "I didn't mean to. . ."  
"Nah, it's my fault. I guess when I decided to take a nap during lunch, I should have done it in my dormitory," said the figure. Judging by the sound of its voice Brenna could tell that it was a boy. He ran his fingers through his jet-black hair and looked up at Brenna as he adjusted his round glasses. When she spotted the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, she immediately recognized him to be Harry Potter and cast her eyes to the floor. "Hey," he said, "Aren't you that new girl? You're in Ravenclaw right?"  
Brenna blushed deeply before looking up again. He was looking curiously at her. "Yes," she replied, "My name is Brenna Ollivander. I transferred here from Beauxbatons."  
"I'm Harry Potter and I'm in Gryffindor House," said Harry, sticking out his hand. Brenna gladly shook it. "Um, I hate to ask, but what happened to your hair? I'm pretty sure it wasn't like that at the start-of-term feast."  
Brenna blushed even harder. "Potions accident," she said quietly. Harry smiled, but it was abruptly wiped from his face. Like he felt guilty for smiling  
"I understand," said Harry, "A girl in our year was talking about it, well, complaining about it anyway. Except her hair turned pink. She's quite revolted." - Brenna giggled at this - "Hey, Cho Chang is in your House right?"  
"Yes, why?" asked Brenna.  
"Just curious," he replied quickly, "Well, I'd better get to my next class. It was nice meeting you, Brenna."  
"Nice meeting you too," replied Brenna. He turned to leave but then stopped in his tracks and turned back around.  
"Um, could you tell Cho I said hi?" asked Harry shyly.  
Brenna nodded. "Thanks!" he said. And with that, he slipped out of the classroom.  
Brenna was completely boggled. This chance meeting was completely strange but at least she'd met Harry Potter.  
"Excuse me?" said a fairly young male voice. Brenna turned around and spied her teacher. He wore robes of a beautiful blue and green and he wasn't very tall - but he was definitely taller than Nyx - and his ears came to a soft point. He was new to the staff at Hogwarts. "Is this your next class?"  
"Oh, yes it is," said Brenna.  
The professor smiled. "Excellent, er, what is your name?"  
"Brenna."  
"Well, nice to meet you, Brenna. I'm Professor Leonhart." Suddenly, the bell was heard ringing in the corridor. "Well, looks like class is about to begin."  
"Yup," said Brenna, finally sitting down. Professor Leonhart walked to his desk to set up for class when students slowly began trickling into the room.  
  
Well, here's chapter three. I promise that Ron will be coming up in the next chapter so come back to read it. Don't forget to review. 


	5. The First Transfiguration Class

Please do note that all HP characters are property of JK Rowling. The characters of Nyx, Brenna, Thursday, Wolfe, Syke, and any other unrecognized names are property of Denise G., and ME (excluding any Hogwarts student only mentioned once in the real story)!!!!!  
  
Chapter Five  
  
The First Transfiguration Class  
  
The week had flown by fairly quickly for Brenna. In her Defense Against the Dark Arts class, she learned about a highly dangerous, mythical, creature called the nemesis. Later that day she'd gone to Divination, and concluded that Professor Trelawney was a total loon.  
It was now Thursday evening, one day after Snape had given both her and Nyx the potion. Brenna was sitting in the Ravenclaw common room, alone, and she couldn't help but think of her meeting with Harry Potter. As she stared into the fireplace and as her hair slowly turned from pure white to the present color of dirty snow, she remembered how he seemed to her. He was kind of quiet and even though he smiled, he didn't seem to feel right about it, almost guilty. She then realized that a lot people seemed that way.  
When Padma had come into Muggle Studies class on Wednesday afternoon, Brenna had mentioned that she had met Harry. Padma vaguely mentioned that her sister had gone to the Yule Ball with Harry, and that she'd gone with his friend Ron Weasley. Other than that, she refused to divulge any further information about the year before, and Brenna didn't persue the subject. And now, that was the only thing on Brenna's mind.  
At that moment, Brenna's pet owl Vitesse flew through an open window in the common room. The grey tawny owl landed on the back of the same blue velvet upholstered couch Brenna was sitting on. Vitesse had a letter clutched in her talons. "Did, you bring me a letter, Vite?" asked Brenna. Vitesse dropped the note in response and fanned out her glossy wing feathers and nipped Brenna's finger affectionately. Brenna picked up the envelope and opened it. She pulled out a single piece of parchment and saw it was from her grandfather. She read:  
  
Dear Brenna, I hope that your first week at Hogwarts has been well. Moving has been obviously difficult for you. Since your parents' death, you have been very subdued but hopefully, Hogwarts will give you the opportunity to shine.  
  
Keep up your studies and remember to look where you'd least expect your answers to be.  
  
With love,  
  
Grandfather  
  
Brenna balled up the letter in anger. "No, Grandfather!" she yelled, scaring Vitesse away, "My week hasn't gone smoothly! I crossed paths with a part demon and came off the bad side of a potion gone wrong! I'm being harassed by a horrible boy, and I have to keep something secret from the only people I can call my friends! I AM HAVING A ROUGH WEEK!" She smoothed out the letter and re-read the last line: "Look where you'd least expect your answers to be." Brenna rolled her eyes in disgust. She hadn't been able to figure out with this meant, even though she had heard repeatedly all during the summer holidays. This is, perhaps, the thing that has aggravated her most.  
Suddenly, Brenna felt her stomach rumbling. She had skipped lunch, breakfast, and dinner from the night before and hidden herself in the common room. Now to top it off, she had skipped tonight's dinner as well. Padma and the others were obviously concerned and continuously asked why Brenna had been absent from so many meals. All through Care of Magical Creatures, Padma badgered her to say what was the matter, and they completely missed out on the lesson.  
Now, Brenna was paying for her mistake. She moaned in pain, as the rumbling became so forceful, that it seemed as though her insides were rearranging themselves. The pain intensified with each passing second until she couldn't take it any longer. All she could think about was the pain and that she needed to hide. Finally, when the pain was unbearable, she ran out of the common room and into corridor.  
  
"All right!" exclaimed Terry at breakfast that next morning, "Where is she? Breakfast is over in like fifteen minutes!"  
"I haven't seen her since yesterday," replied Cho worriedly.  
"Me either," said Padma.  
"She didn't come to bed last night," said Mandy, "I hope she hasn't been expelled for wondering the corridor at night."  
Just then, Terry jumped in her seat. "There she is!" she exclaimed, pointing at the doorway to the Great Hall. Sure enough, Brenna was walking into the Great Hall and towards the Ravenclaw table. Her hair had become almost completely normal, it was just a very dull brown now, and she looked strangely thin. Upon closer inspection, circles were visible underneath her eyes.  
"Where have you been!" exclaimed Padma as Brenna sat down next to her, "We haven't seen you in almost a day!"  
"I have been very busy lately, been in the library mostly," lied Brenna.  
"But you didn't come to bed last night either," said Terry as she eyed Brenna suspiciously.  
"Oh. That," said Brenna sharply, "I had a stomach ache and I was in the hospital wing all night." Once again there was finality in her tone that caused an uneasy silence to creep over the girls. Except for Cho, who had obviously not been paying attention. She instead had been playing with her locket.  
Finally noticing that no one was talking, Cho cleared her throat and opened her mouth to speak. "So, are you ready for our first Advanced Transfiguration class?"  
Brenna relaxed and the softness in her voice returned. "I am actually kind of nervous," she replied truthfully.  
"Don't worry, I really think you'll enjoy it."  
"I hope so. I don't want another fiasco like I had in Potions." Brenna grabbed an apple and munched on it thoughtfully, and within a minute it was gone. She would have continued eating until she'd finished off the core, but Terry stopped her.  
"What?" asked Brenna. Terry wrenched the fragile core from Brenna's slender hand and held it up so Brenna could see it. "I was hungry!"  
"Skipping four meals does that to a person," replied Mandy under her breath.  
Brenna quickly grabbed two more apples and an orange. "Let's go, we don't want to be late to Transfiguration!" she said as she stood and grabbed her books.  
Cho blinked a couple times before she realized the hurried tone in Brenna's voice. "Oh! Yes, of course," she said as she gathered her things, "See you!" And with that, she and Brenna headed to class.  
"She's really starting to worry me," said Mandy. Padma nodded in agreement as the bell that ended breakfast rang.  
  
A few minutes later, Brenna and Cho walked into the Transfiguration classroom. Brenna was finishing her second apple and placing the core on tip of the first apple core and a pile of orange peelings. "That was definitely fast!" said Cho. Brenna shrugged it off and threw away her trash. From behind her, she heard a vaguely familiar voice.  
"Hey, Brenna!" said Harry. Brenna turned to face Harry Potter. Two people she didn't know accompanied him.  
"Oh. Hello." she replied shyly.  
"Hi, Harry!" said Cho brightly from behind Brenna.  
"Um, hello," said Harry, "Er, look forward to seeing you on the Quiddich field soon!"  
"Cho smiled. "Me too. Maybe this year we'll beat you, eh?"  
"Maybe!" exclaimed a red haired boy standing next to Harry. Brenna looked curiously at him, as well as the bushy haired girl that just walked up on the other side of him.  
Seeing the confused look on her face, Harry jumped into action. "Brenna these are my friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley."  
Hermione offered her hand to Brenna. "It's nice to meet you, Brenna," she said warmly.  
"Same to you," replied Brenna.  
"You look familiar. Are you the same girl that Harry's told us about? The girl with the white hair?" asked Ron. Hermione gave him a stern look.  
"Yes she is," cut in Harry, "but it looks as though its gotten better."  
"It has," replied Brenna.  
Suddenly, Ron gave a loud groan. "How did she get into this class?!" he moaned. Cho, Harry, Hermione, and Brenna all looked towards the doorway. Three more students had entered. Two of them were a boy and girl she didn't recognize, and the other was. . .  
"Nyx!" exclaimed Brenna. Nyx looked towards Brenna and gave her a mischievous half-smile. "How did you get into this class?"  
Nyx just laughed. "To be perfectly honest, I am pretty damn smart. I just chose not to be smart in Potions class."  
"This, is Wolfe," said Nyx indicating the boy next to her. He was taller than Nyx, as were most people owing to the fact that Nyx was quite short. He had thick silver hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, and he had ears were pointed just like Nyx's. He smiled at Brenna as he slid to her side and affectionately took hold of her hand. Then he gently kissed the top of it.  
"Good morning, delicate creature," said Wolfe seductively to a horrified Brenna. Out of no where, Nyx gave him a slap upside the head and he cowered away.  
Hermione tutted at Wolfe, sounding torn between being thoroughly annoyed and amused. "Honestly, Wolfe!" she said, "Do you not know when to give up on women!"  
"No thank you, I am enjoying a heterosexual life. Besides, I don't want Syke hounding me for the rest of my life!" said Wolfe. Everyone except Brenna began to snigger as more students were filling into the classroom.  
"You make a point," said Ron, "Syke's a bit nutters when it comes to you. Him being" - Ron shuttered - "gay and all." At that, Cho, Nyx, Harry, Brenna, Hermione, and the other girl began to laugh, even Wolfe.  
"I'm Thursday Alucard," said the girl as their laughter died down. Her skin was extremely translucent and she wore glasses over her deeply crimson eyes. She also had long, glossy black hair with a white streak that fell in front of her face. "Wolfe and I are both in Slytherin."  
Hermione leaned close to Brenna and whispered into her ear. "You can probably tell by now that the Slytherin's are a mean bunch, but Thursday' is incredibly sweet. She's the nicest Slytherin you'll ever see at this school."  
Brenna looked curiously at the two of them. Brenna agreed with Hermione. She had already had been at Hogwarts long enough to know that Slytherin's were downright mean. Even though Wolfe and Thursday were both nice people, Thursday was definitely the nicest Slytherin she had ever met. Of course, close to none of the other Slytherins she had met were nice to her.  
Before she could say anything, Professor McGonagall strolled into the classroom. She walked calmly up to the front of the room and took a seat behind her desk. "Please settle into your seats, class," said Professor McGonagall. All the students took their seats, Harry choosing a seat next to Cho, Nyx sitting on his other side, then Hermione, Ron, Brenna, Wolfe, and Thursday.  
"I'm very sorry for being late," said McGonagall, "I was finishing up a bit of research for today's' lesson."  
"No hurry, Professor," said Ron, "Take all the time you need!"  
Brenna stifled a giggle while Hermione and McGonagall shot identically stern looks at him. Ron blushed furiously and McGonagall continued on.  
"To begin, you all should recall that Animagi are witches and wizards who can transform into animals at will. Unknown to us until about a decade ago, a discovery of another type of Animagi was found. They are called uncontrollable Animagi. Unlike normal Animagi, these witches and wizards cannot control when or what they turn into. It is unclear why these witches and wizards have become uncontrollable Animagi."  
"The transformations are very painful, and can be caused by bouts of high emotion, lack of sustenance, and sometimes on rare occasion they are able to transform themselves, but it almost never happens."  
"They transform into highly dangerous creatures, and sometimes the creature shows through when they haven't even transformed. Although this isn't always the case, these witches and wizards can be bloodthirsty and evil, or have an extremely high temper level."  
Suddenly, Hermione's hand shot up into the air, nearly knocking Ron into Brenna.  
"Yes, Miss Granger?" asked McGonagall as Hermione put her hand down.  
"Well, Professor, isn't a werewolf classified as an uncontrollable Animagi then?" asked Hermione.  
"Unfortunately, Miss Granger there is only speculation on that. Most of my sources state that since werewolves only transform at the full moon, they are not classified as uncontrollable Animagi. Uncontrollables change at random and not necessarily at one set time each month."  
Out of the corner of her eye, Brenna saw Wolfe open his mouth to say something, but Nyx stood up and gave him a warning glare. Wolfe, once again, cowered back. "Is there anything you'd like to add, Miss Black?" asked McGonagall sternly.  
"No," said Nyx calmly as she eyed Wolfe and sat back down.  
"Well, then everyone open your textbooks and start taking notes from page 734." She then handed Brenna her new Transfiguration book, Extremely Advanced Transfiguration.  
All the students could be heard taking out parchment, quills, ink bottles, and copies of Extremely Advanced Transfiguration. Nyx had managed to charm her quill to take notes for her. Harry peered at Nyx's paper with interest while Hermione shook her head disapprovingly.  
Brenna had begun taking notes when she became interrupted by a little poke in the shoulder. See turned to see Ron looking as though he was about to ask for something. "Yes?" whispered Brenna.  
"Do you have a quill I can borrow?" Ron asked. Brenna nodded as she bent over her backpack and pulled out a spare quill. She handed it to him. "Thanks," he replied.  
"No problem," said Brenna. She resumed taking notes for not even two minutes before she was nudged again by Ron.  
"When do you have study hall?" asked Ron.  
"Tuesday mornings, why?"  
"I've been sitting here trying to think of where I saw you at. And I believe it was in study hall, because there was a girl in my class with white hair, of course now she has brown hair."  
Brenna blushed as she fingered her dull hair nervously. "Yeah, but I've gotten it nearly fixed," repeated Brenna.  
Ron nodded. "I see that. Nyx got a pretty raw deal as well. Before Snape gave her the potion, her hair was so pink that it looked like a Valentine's Day card had sneezed on her head. I was betting she'd last at least until today without her getting into trouble. Guess I was wrong."  
Brenna giggled. "Well, I'm glad things are getting back to normal."  
"Somehow I really doubt this year will be 'normal' as you say."  
"P'raps you're right, it's not like it has been normal so far."  
"Normal is a non-existent word here at Hogwarts!" added Wolfe. He had obviously been eavesdropping in on their conversation.  
"Just like 'girl' is a non-existent word to Syke, eh, Wolfie!" taunted Ron. As Wolfe's face turned red, Brenna was sent into another fit of giggles.  
"Is there a problem?" asked McGonagall. Brenna quickly covered her mouth to deaden the noise.  
"No, Professor," replied Wolfe innocently. McGonagall peered at the over the top over her spectacles somewhat suspiciously before going back to her work Brenna suppressed another giggle and finally began taking notes. When the bell finally rang, Cho and Brenna said good-bye to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Nyx, Thursday, and Wolfe, then headed to their dormitory to drop off their things. Nyx, Wolfe, and Thursday followed soon after.  
"Can't you two at least wait a few weeks into the school term to start causing trouble!" asked Hermione, putting away her things.  
"Hey, I didn't do anything this time!" said Harry truthfully. Hermione turned on Ron, looking for an explanation.  
"I was just making friendly conversation!" said Ron.  
"Don't get too friendly," warned Hermione.  
"Why not?"  
Harry and Hermione both just gave him a look. "Well, at least she thinks I'm funny, " muttered Ron under his breath.  
  
Chapter four. Ahh, finally. I'd have to say this is one of my favorite chapters even though Ron and the others may seem a bit OOC. Don't forget to review, pleez!!!!! 


	6. Ravenclaw versus Slytherin

Please do note that all HP characters are property of JK Rowling. The characters of Nyx, Brenna, Thursday, Wolfe, Syke, and any other unrecognized names are property of Denise G., and ME (excluding any Hogwarts student only mentioned once in the real story)!!!!!  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Ravenclaw versus Slytherin  
  
After dinner, Brenna sat on the hillside overlooking the lush, green Quidditch field. Hours ago she'd finished her guide tour with Cho, of all places she hadn't visited; the library, Filch's office, the prefect lounge, and the Owlery. The last place she had taken Brenna was the Quidditch field. Cho mentioned that tryouts for the House Quidditch teams were the next day. Since Cho already knew that Brenna was an experienced Chaser, she had encouraged Brenna to tryout.  
Not having touched her Nimbus 2001 since the end of the last school year, Brenna was unsure of her chances to even make the reserve team. Her mother and father had been her biggest supporters, and they had been the ones to give her the Nimbus 2001. But they weren't here. Not anymore.  
Finally, after a deep confirming sigh, she'd made a decision. She was going to do it. "It's not like I've got anything better to do," thought Brenna aloud, "I've just gotta make sure it doesn't get out of hand." With that, she picked herself of the ground and went back to the castle to sign up.  
Once inside, Brenna quickly made her way to the doors of the Great Hall where the lists were posted for aspiring Quidditch players to sign. She picked up the Self-Inking quill that had been attached next to the signup sheets when a familiar drawling voice came from behind her. "Rather common looking aren't we today, Brenna."  
Brenna dropped the quill and winced before turning around to come face to face with Draco Malfoy. She didn't like the way her name sounded as it rolled off his tongue. Of course, as Nyx often said, he could make the sweetest poetry sound like nails on a chalkboard. "I beg your pardon?" Brenna asked in a wavering voice.  
"I was just mentioning how, common, you are looking this evening, of course, I wouldn't expect much from a Ravenclaw. . ." Brenna looked down at what she was wearing, unable to speak. This evening she had decided to put away her robes for the weekend and don Muggle clothing. Her pink peasant blouse with the low shoulders was almost new as was her flare jeans. Brenna thought she looked perfectly fine but she wasn't about to be brave enough to say anything. He came closer to her placed his fingers underneath her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. "You could do great if you were in my house you know. We could become good friends, very good friends. I could give you anything you wanted." He then dropped Brenna's chin. Brenna quickly turned away from him and grabbed the quill she had dropped.  
"So, you're trying out to play Quidditch, are you?" he said lazily.  
"Yes," said Brenna, miraculously finding her voice.  
"Even if you join that pathetic group of losers they try and call a team, you'll never win. You probably have no talent anyway."  
"Do you have to take up the whole bloody hallway!" exclaimed Nyx. Malfoy turned to find Nyx, standing much shorter than him by at least a foot, growling ferociously at him. Nyx quickly spied Brenna and stopped growling. "I'm sorry, were you talking to this scumbag?"  
"Yes, we were talking," said Malfoy.  
Nyx resumed her growling. "I didn't ask you . . ."  
"Bitch." Then Malfoy muttered something under his breath that Brenna couldn't hear, but apparently Nyx did.  
"What did you say? I hope you didn't just say something about my father!"  
"I did. Do you want me to say it clearer and in simpler terms so your unevolved brain can handle it? Your father is a sorry excuse for a supporter of You-Know-Who, and you're no better than he is!"  
Brenna watched as Nyx's eyes turned a deep yellow and as she pounced on Malfoy just as he took out his wand to defend himself. She had him pinned to the ground and was now looking at him with a set of gleaming fangs bared and an almost animal madness radiated from her.  
"You really seem to miss the hospital wing, don't you? Say one more thing about my family and I'll send you back there in pieces." She stepped off of him and stood up, her eyes having returned to their original icy- blue colour. Malfoy quickly stood up and started backing down the hallway.  
"You may have fought me off this time, Nyx, but next time you won't be the victor!" he threatened, "There's definitely something weird about both of you, and I'm going to find it out!" With that, he sprinted down the corridor to the safety of the Slytherin commonroom.  
"Everyone has a secret, Malfoy!" yelled Nyx. After a moment, she turned and faced Brenna, smiling. "I guess you are here to sign up for the Quidditch trials?" said Nyx, smiling as if nothing had just happened. Brenna was now backed up against the wall and very pale with fright. She nodded. "Well then, we'd better sign up!"  
Brenna blinked and loosened the kung-fu grip she had on the quill. She quickly signed her name under the list for Ravenclaw and handed it off to Nyx who signed up under Gryffindor. "See you later!" said Nyx. Brenna watched bewilderedly as Nyx skipped back to her commonroom, whistling. When she'd disappeared, Brenna ran all the way back to the Ravenclaw commonroom without stopping.  
  
Three Advanced Transfiguration classes and a day later, there was a buzz around the school about the first Quidditch match of the season: Ravenclaw versus Slytherin. Padma and Brenna made the team, Padma as the Keeper and Brenna as a Chaser. Nearly the entire Ravenclaw team was confident about today's match. Except for one person.  
Brenna.  
"Brenna, stop worrying!" said Terry at breakfast that morning. Brenna shook her head.  
"I am terrified!" said Brenna, "What if I mess up?"  
"It's just one game," said Mandy.  
"Yeah, Brenn," said Padma, "You'll do fine! You're easily one of the best Chasers in this school. You rank right up there with Gryffindor Chasers Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet!"  
"I don't know. I'm still nervous," said Brenna, taking a bite of a piece of toast.  
"Now you're starting to make me nervous!"  
Brenna smiled weakly at the joke, continuing to munch on her toast. Mandy gave Brenna a comforting pat on the back. "You'll do fine," she said.  
Just then, Cho stood up. "Well, Brenna, Padma, we'd better go get ready!" she said. Brenna swallowed hard as she and Padma stood too.  
"Good luck!" said Terry to Cho, Padma, and Brenna as the headed for the locker rooms.  
  
A half an hour later the Ravenclaw Quidditch team was dressed in their blue and grey Quidditch robes. As they were pulling on their arm and leg guards, Cho gave a pep talk to them.  
"We've undergone a major team transformation," she said, "I, as your new captain, shall lead you into the new season by wishing luck to our new teammates Stewart Ackerly, Padma Patil, and Brenna Ollivander." - The team clapped energetically. - "For most of us, we have experienced first hand how Slytherin plays, and we know there pretty tough. They fight dirty. But, as long as we play fair, we can win!"  
"You said it, Cho!" replied Stewart, an African American second year that played as a Beater on the Ravenclaw team. Justin Clearwater, a tall third year with thick brown hair that was the other Beater, nodded in agreement.  
A loud whistle sounded, signaling for the teams to come out onto the field. Cho grinned. "This is it," she said. With that, she motioned for the team to follow her out of the locker room.  
Sunlight washed over the Ravenclaw team as they stepped out onto the filed. The crowd burst into applause. This gave Brenna the adrenaline rush she needed to push her anxiety out of her brain.  
"Let's go!" yelled Cho over the noise of the crowd. The players mounted their brooms and kicked off the ground. Brenna took a quick lap around the circumference of the field while the commentator announced the players from the Ravenclaw team.  
"Welcome to today's Quidditch match: Slytherin versus Ravenclaw," yelled the commentator through the magical megaphone, "Today looks to be an excellent day for Quidditch. Of course, since no one has a Firebolt, this game may last forever . . ."  
"Lee Jordan! I told you not to do that!" yelled the familiar voice of Professor McGonagall.  
"Sorry, Professor! Oh, it looks like the game is about to start!"  
Madame Hooch walked onto the filed with her broomstick in one hand and the other dragging the crate that held the Quidditch balls. The Slytherin and Ravenclaw teams immediately hovered in the center of the field as Madame Hooch released the Golden Snitch and the Bludgers from their restraints. "On my whistle!" called Madame Hooch, "Three . . .two . . .one!" The whistle was blown and the red Quaffle was released into the air.  
  
"Ravenclaw Chaser Joshua Davies seizes the Quaffle and weaves past two of Slytherin's Chasers," said Lee, "He quickly hands it off to Chaser Brenna Ollivander, a newcomer to the Ravenclaw team. A quite attractive addition if I do say so myself . . ."  
"Jordan!" warned McGonagall.  
"Well, anyway, Chaser Ollivander is showing some excellent skills as she passes to Chaser Ashton Quickle - OUCH! That's gotta hurt!"  
One of the Slytherin Beaters had just pummeled Ashton with a Bludger. Ashton dropped the Quaffle and a Slytherin Chaser zoomed underneath him and caught it. Brenna only gave the guilty Beater a glance before zooming towards the goal posts, along with her fellow Chasers, Joshua and Ashton.  
"Slytherin Chaser Montague is now in possession of the Quaffle and he quickly makes his way to the Ravenclaw goal posts. He aims to score and . . . Keeper Padma Patil makes an excellent save!" exclaimed Lee.  
"Yea! Go, Padma!" exclaimed her sister, Parvati Patil.  
"Excellent save!" yelled Cho. Padma smiled as she nodded her thanks and threw the Quaffle back into play. Brenna quickly took hold of it and sped away.  
"Chaser Ollivander takes the Quaffle and passes to Davies, who passes it right back to Ollivander," said Lee. "She then passes to Quickle, narrowly missing a Bludger hit by Slytherin Beater Thursday Alucard."  
"Thursday?!" exclaimed Brenna. She quickly turned and saw Thursday speeding up behind her. She looked absolutely evil. Thursday obviously wasn't the sweet little girl everyone thought her to be.  
"Quickle reaches the Slytherin goal posts and scores!" yelled Lee, "Ravenclaw leads ten to zero! Hey! - Let go of the megaphone! " From the commentators box, Wolfe was fighting for his right to commentate. He and Lee often took turns commentating, but today Wolfe obviously thought he should have the megaphone.  
Somehow he managed to wrench the megaphone from Lee's hands. As he used only a single hand to hold Lee back, Wolfe pressed the megaphone to his lips. "Slytherin Chaser Montague has possession of the Quaffle and heads for the goal posts," he said. Then a strangely sexy voice came out through the megaphone. "And for all you ladies out there, I am an attractive, single Slytherin who enjoys long walks on the beach, fine dinning, and lots of group - "  
Lee managed to grab the megaphone, cutting off Wolfe's last words. "Hey, isn't that Syke?" he said.  
"Syke?!" said Wolfe, "Where?!" Having actually spotted him, Wolfe managed to duck under the seats in time.  
"Anyway," said Lee, "Slytherin is now in possession and playing what seems to be Keep Away with the Quaffle. Chaser Zabini shoots and . . .scores. Aw, man!"  
"I hope Slytherin doesn't win," said Ron, as the Slytherin side burst into applause, "They don't deserve it."  
"Yeah, Ravenclaw has a better Seeker anyway," replied Harry, watching Cho whizzing around the field after Malfoy.  
Nyx and Hermione gave Harry an annoyed look. "Oh shut up, Harry," said Nyx angrily, before turning her attention back to the match.  
The match continued on like this for awhile. Each team scored back and forth until the score was tied at seventy. The Slytherins were playing fiercer and dirtier, especially Thursday. She was particularly brutal. She was obviously trying to make up for when she missed Brenna with the Bludger she'd aimed at her. Since then, she had made several, very well aimed swings that hot their targets.  
"Slytherin is in possession and Chaser Zabini speeds towards the Ravenclaw goal posts. He aims, and . . .oh no! Slytherin score, making it Ravenclaw seventy, Slytherin eighty," said Lee.  
Just then, Madame Hooch blew her whistle and both teams came down to the ground. Brenna was the last to land and she quickly joined her teammates.  
"Ok, we need to end this," replied Cho, "I'm not sure how long we can survive against those Beaters."  
"Yeah," replied Justin, nursing a bloody nose he had just received before the time out was called.  
"That Thursday girl hurts!" exclaimed Joshua, "She's so sweet when you talk to her in person, but it seems like she turns evil when she gets one of those Beater clubs in her hands!"  
"Well, that explains how she got into Slytherin," said Ashton disgustedly.  
"Look, it's obvious we underestimated the Slytherins," said Padma, "but if we can distract them, then Cho could get the Snitch and we can win this match!"  
"Padma's right," said Cho, "I think it's a good time to put forward that new plan we practiced the other day, the Spiral Attack.  
"But we just learned it two days ago!" said Brenna, "Are you sure it will work?"  
"I'm with Brenna," said Stewart, "Do you think it's possible?"  
Cho nodded. "Don't worry, it'll work," she said. Just then, Madame Hooch walked over them.  
"Are you ready to resume play?" asked Madame Hooch.  
"Yes, we're ready," said Cho. Madame Hooch nodded at them and went to ask the Slytherins if they were ready.  
Everyone climbed on their brooms and kicked off. The whistle was blown and the Slytherins seized the Quaffle. "Wait for my signal!" Cho yelled to Brenna.  
"Chaser Montague is speeding his way towards the Ravenclaw goal posts," said Lee, "but, his pathway seems to be unusually clear. Come on guys! Don't let them win!"  
"NOW!" yelled Cho. The team jumped into action. All the Ravenclaw Chasers got into the Hawkshead Attacking Formation, with Brenna leading the way. Stewart Ackerly swung hard at a Bludger, hitting Montague square in the stomach.  
"An excellent move by Ravenclaw Beater Ackerly - take that you dirty scumbag! - and Montague drops the Quaffle. Chaser Ollivander swoops down to catch it, with Davies and Quickle closely following her. Ollivander is once again demonstrating her excellent Quidditch skills. I wonder if she's single - "  
"JORDAN!"  
"Sorry again, Professor! Chaser Ollivander turns and speeds away. They almost appear to be a giant wall as they get closer and closer to the Slytherin goal - keep your club down Bole! - but wait! Davies and Quickle break away, leaving Ollivander to score!"  
Joshua sped away and began circling the Slytherin Beaters, as if to corral them. Ashton was chasing Malfoy around the field and away from Cho. Brenna quickly zoomed to the goal posts, spiraled around the Slytherin Keeper Derrick and scored.  
"Brilliant! Ollivander scores! The score is now tied at eighty. Wow! It seems as though Chang's spotted the Snitch! With the distraction her Chasers are giving, this should be an easy catch! LOOK OUT! Malfoy has broken away from Quickle and is now after Chang, but . . .YES! THEY'VE DONE IT! Cho Chang has caught the Snitch and Ravenclaw wins two hundred and thirty to eighty!"  
The applause of the crowd roared as the Ravenclaw team did a couple victory laps before touching down again. Then they happily walked off to the locker rooms. Brenna and Cho carried up the rear and just before they passed through the threshold, Ron, Harry, Nyx, and Hermione stopped them.  
"That was a brilliant match," said Ron.  
"Yeah, Cho made an excellent catch," said Harry. Cho blushed as Hermione gave Harry another annoyed look.  
"I'm glad everyone came out of there without any broken bones!" said Hermione.  
"Thursday nearly killed me!" said Brenna.  
"She's only like that on the Quidditch field," said Nyx, pointing to the other side of the field. Brenna saw Thursday and Wolfe. Wolfe was trying to comfort Thursday as she was using her club to beat the stadium wall in anger. Smiling, he calmly took the club from her and she paused. Her sweet smile crept onto her face and was clearly visible all the way from where they were standing, as if nothing had happened.  
"Are they dating?" asked Brenna.  
"Nah, they're just really good friends," replied Ron, "But I'm kind of surprised they aren't arranged to be married."  
Brenna gave Ron a puzzled look.  
Nyx rolled her eyes. "Wolfe Slytherin, also known as the dormant heir, and Thursday Alucard are a part of one of those old wizarding families that were pretty much born royal or close to it," she replied.  
"So what does that mean?" asked Harry.  
"It means that Wolfe and Thursday are loaded with galleons and are in arranged marriages."  
Before Brenna could respond, Cho spoke."Well, we'd better go back into the locker room so we can get ready for lunch," said Cho.  
"Yeah," said Harry dreamily. Nyx gave Harry a dirty look.  
"See you later!" said Brenna and Cho as they walked into the locker rooms.  
"See ya!" said Nyx, Hermione, Ron, and Harry. Ron rolled his eyes at Harry and he and Nyx pulled him away from Cho, and towards the castle.  
  
There's Chapter five. I like this chapter as well, it was really fun to write. My thanks to Denise for the beginning part of this story (she wrote that part). And now, I have a confession to make. For those of you who read my story, you may have realized a big mistake I have made in the story. Because, you see, Terry Boot is male, but I accidentally made him a female. For my purposes, Terry will stay female. I just wanted to let you all know. Please review! 


	7. The Test

Please do note that all HP characters are property of JK Rowling. The characters of Nyx, Brenna, Thursday, Wolfe, Syke, and any other unrecognized names are property of Denise G., and ME (excluding any Hogwarts student only mentioned once in the real story)!!!!!  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
The Test  
  
It was now two weeks into October, and Brenna had finally made herself home at Hogwarts. She developed a school day routine of waking up, showering, going to breakfast, attended morning classes, going to lunch, attending afternoon classes, going to dinner, and then hanging around the commonroom till ten o'clock rolled around. Then she headed of to bed. On the weekends, class time had been replaced with hanging out with spending time with her friends.  
She grew accustomed to the less than normal happenings and was beginning to be more relaxed. This week, she could tell that something was about to happen. The teachers had been giving subtle hints about it for days, but the never actually said anything. So, by the time Friday morning hit, Brenna wasn't surprised that she still had no idea of what was going to happen, if anything.  
"So, when is the next Quidditch match for Ravenclaw?" asked Mandy.  
"The first Saturday in November," said Cho, "We play the winner of the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match."  
"You'll be playing Gryffindor," said Terry in an offhanded manner, "No doubt about that."  
Brenna had opened her mouth to say something when a loud clinking from the teacher's table sounded through the Great Hall. Everyone there turned his or her attention towards Professor Dumbledore.  
"Well, good morning everyone! I hope the school year hasn't been to difficult for you all!" said Dumbledore. There was a murmur of 'yes's' that went through the crowd before for he motioned for silence. "So, then I assume you're all ready for a test then?" he asked. Another louder and angrier murmur fell over the students.  
"A test!" Brenna heard Nyx exclaim from the Gryffindor table, "I thought the O.W.L.'s weren't until spring!"  
"You're right, Miss Black," replied Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling, "but I'm referring to is a comprehensive test for you to demonstrate your skills in a practical situation. Well, practical for your age group and the upcoming holiday."  
"Professor Flitwick, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall came up with an idea for a test and presented it to me. I agreed with it and now I am presenting it to you all with a more vague version of what they said. This year, in addition to the Halloween feast, we are allowing you to dress up in costumes." - this brought an excited uproar over the Great Hall - "But here comes the tricky part. You must make your costume pieces out of transfigured, random materials."  
"There's always a catch!" exclaimed a red haired boy from the Gryffindor table. Brenna thought for a moment it might be Ron, but she spotted him rolling his eyes at the red headed boy.  
"Not always, Mr. Weasley," replied Dumbledore with a smile, "I assure you all that this will be an enjoyable experience, as well as an educational one. All I will tell you is that for third years and up, you will be making your costumes as I have just described. Second years and first years will be making a potion for simple things like hair altering and whatnot. The rest of the details shall be delivered to you in your Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions classes."  
An excited chatter raced across the Great Hall and fell over all the house tables, including the Ravenclaw table.  
"I'm glad we have Transfiguration after breakfast," Cho said to Brenna," The suspense is killing me!"  
"I don't have it till Monday," said Terri glumly.  
"We don't have it 'til Tuesday!" said Mandy, indicating Padma as well.  
"But we have Charms right before lunch," Padma pointed out. The bell ending breakfast rang just then and they all quickly went to their separate classes.  
  
As Cho and Brenna entered McGonagall's classroom, they nearly ran into Nyx, Wolfe, and Thursday. Of course they had been blocking the doorway.  
"Hey guys," said Thursday, backing into Wolfe to allow Brenna and Cho to enter. Wolfe smiled pervertedly and to Brenna's surprise, Nyx didn't try to smack him, she just smiled slyly at them.  
"Hey," said Cho, "looks like everyone wanted to get to class early today." Sure enough Brenna saw that nearly the entire class had showed up already, with the exception of Hermione, who was nowhere to be seen.  
"That's weird, no one usually straggles in until the last minute," said Brenna.  
"You're right," said Ron. We walked up to them, smiling.  
"Hello!" said Brenna.  
"Hi, Ron," said Cho," Where's Harry and Hermione?"  
"I'm right here," said Harry as he walked into the room, "Hermione had to send a letter off before she came. She should be along any minute."  
"No doubt to her lovely Viktor!" said Ron disgustedly.  
"Honestly, Ron," said Hermione from the doorway, "Aren't you over that yet?"  
"Yes, I just like teasing you a bit, that's all."  
Shaking her head, Hermione took her seat. And just in time too because Professor McGonagall walked into the classroom from her office. The class immediately took their seats and reluctantly removed parchment and their books for backpacks on the floor.  
"Ok, class, settle down," said McGonagall as she lay her books out on her desk, "Today we are going to study the causes of - " She was suddenly interrupted by a raised hand. Wolfe's to be exact. She sighed. "Yes, Mr. . . . er, Wolfe?"  
"Since we're obviously not going to listen to you until we find out more about this test," replied Wolfe, "Maybe you should tell us, or explain it, or whatever. . ." The class all shook their heads in agreement. This was something they had all been thinking but only Wolfe had the courage to say.  
McGonagall gave another sigh, had a look on her face that clearly illustrated her distress at Wolfe's bluntness. "Fine," said McGonagall, "You may all put your things away."  
In their silent happiness, the entire class put away their things quickly. McGonagall had done the same thing except she had brought out a History of Magic book and placed it on her desk. "The rules of the test are fairly simple," began McGonagall, "You are to chose a famous witch or wizard to be the subject of your costume. You shall transfigure or charm random objects so that they become your costume. Then a specific charm will be placed on all the pieces. For your class, you are not given the option of choosing, therefore your subject is assigned and you must decide whether or not to go with a partner. We'll do that first. Accio!" Two bowls zoomed out of a cupboard and into her hands. After setting them down, McGonagall then gave the History of Magic book a tap of her wand, causing the book to fall open. The pages began to flip wildly as names tore themselves out of the pages and separated themselves into one of the two bowls.  
Once the names had settled into the appropriate bowl, McGonagall magically swirled the contents of the bowls and began to speak. "For those of you whom wish to go alone, write your name on a slip of parchment and place it here." - she indicated the bowl to her right. - "And for those of you whom wish to go with a partner, place your name here" - she indicated the bowl to her left. - "and it shall match you up with someone."  
"Lucky Syke isn't in this class," Ron whispered to Wolfe as everyone wrote their names on bits of parchment and stood to put them into the correct bowl.  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," replied Wolfe, "I hear you." He placed his parchment into the partner bowl.  
"Which one are you going for?"  
"I fancy having a date," said Ron, following Wolfe's example.  
"I'm with Ron on this one," said Harry doing the same, "I'd much rather see this thru with a partner."  
"Hey maybe you and I will get paired Harry," said Nyx, ruffling Harry's hair. Harry pressed his hair flat and gulped nervously.  
"That's what I'm afraid of -"  
"Personally, I don't want my mind clouded with that kind of distraction," said Hermione, "I am going alone."  
"Only because you don't want to betray your Vicky!" teased Ron.  
"Maybe so, and how many times do I have to tell you not to call him Vicky!"  
Thursday walked past the bickering Hermione and Ron to place her name in the partner bowl. Wolfe, obvious glad Thursday had done this, gave her butt a playful smack, sending Thursday into giggles. Nyx swung at Wolfe and landed a blow to his head.  
"Knock it off!" said Nyx.  
"Anyway," said Cho, "I agree with Hermione. Besides, I'd rather go alone anyway."  
"Hey," said Thursday, "Have you decided yet?"  
Brenna looked up at the pale girl. She clutched her parchment tightly in her hand as Nyx quickly joined Thursday, looking curiously at Brenna.  
"What's wrong? Can't make a decision?" asked Nyx. Brenna lied and shook her head. She was torn between the idea of going alone, or with a date. While mulling over the idea, the rest of the class put their names in the appropriate bowl. When Brenna was the last one left, she still didn't know what to do. "Hurry up, the test'll be over by the time you make a decision!" said Nyx.  
"You need to make a choice soon," encouraged Cho.  
Finally, Brenna let out a sigh of air and placed her name into the partner bowl. "Brilliant choice!" exclaimed Nyx as she clapped Brenna on the shoulder. The force threw Brenna forward. Despite Nyx's pixie-like appearance, she was quite strong.  
"Settle down," said McGonagall sharply, eye Nyx beadily. Reluctantly, Nyx flopped down in her seat. "The contents of the bowls are being mixed together to match you up with your subject, and for those of you whom wish to do this with a partner, you are being matched up with partner as well as your subject," said McGonagall. After a moment, she halted the movement inside the bowls with a wave of her wand.  
"When I call your name, please come forward and collect your assignment," said McGonagall. A piece of parchment that looked as though it had melded together with the names torn from the book shot from the bowl to her right. She took hold of the parchment and read its name aloud. "Dean Thomas," she read. An African-American boy from Gryffindor that sat in the back row stood and walked up to McGonagall and collected his assignment.  
"What didja get, Dean?" whispered Harry as Dean walked back to his seat.  
"Merlin," replied Dean with a half smile, "This is gonna be easy!"  
"Cho Chang," read McGonagall. When Cho got her assignment and read it, she smiled.  
"Hermione Granger. . ."  
McGonagall continued to read names from the bowl for several minutes until she'd read them all. Brenna eagerly waited for this, as well as Harry, Nyx, Ron, Wolfe, and Thursday.  
The bowl with all the partner's names in it had spit out several names it had not been able to use. McGonagall scooped them up and looked them over. "It seems that not many of you chose to partner up," she said, "In fact," - she counted the names - "only six of you decided to double up. This should go much quicker." A name shot up from the bowl and McGonagall retrieved it to read the names on it. "Wolfe, er, Slytherin and Thursday Alucard."  
"Brilliant!" said Thursday as she and Wolfe collected their assignment. The read it to themselves and Thursday giggled excitedly before she and her partner sat down.  
"Harry Potter and Nyx Black."  
Nyx looked absolutely overjoyed at the news of being partnered with Harry. On the other hand, Harry was dying of happiness but he wasn't upset. Nyx literally dragged him by his collar to get their assignment. As Harry recovered from nearly being choked to death, Brenna eagerly awaited for what she knew was coming next.  
"Ron Weasley and Brenna Ollivander."  
Ron and Brenna collected their assignment and sat down. Before they had the chance to even look at their assignment, McGonagall began to speak. "The remainder of the class time has been allotted so you may discuss your assignments with others to brainstorm and get ideas."  
The class broke apart and gathered into little groups, although most of them wouldn't be brainstorming for ideas. Nyx, Harry, Wolfe, Thursday, Hermione, and Cho grouped up around Brenna and Ron.  
"I do believe the pairings were a splendid choice!" said Wolfe with fake sophistication.  
"Blah, blah, blah," said Nyx, "What did you get anyway?"  
"Romeo and Juliet," replied Thursday, showing them all the slip of parchment.  
"I thought that those weren't real people," said Ron.  
"Shakespeare's plays were based upon things he had witnessed for himself. It's not surprising no one believed his stories of witches and faeries and tragic romances, but they were in fact real," said Hermione.  
"That would explain my assignment," said Cho, "I got Titania."  
"Fascinating!"  
"Well I'm glad you find it fascinating, Ms. Textbook! I wouldn't want to be some sort of sissy faerie!" said Nyx, "I'm glad you got it instead of me."  
"Well then, what did you get?" asked Hermione hotly.  
Nyx smiled. "I though you'd never ask!" she said, "I got a Japanese priestess and Harry over here got a dementor."  
"I'm not exactly happy about that choice," said Harry, turning a pale shade of green. When Nyx gave him the evil eye he immediately tried to redeem himself. "I meant about being a dementor!"  
"I thought so," said Nyx.  
"What did you two get?" asked Thursday. Ron opened the slip of folded parchment. He read to himself before reading it aloud.  
"Tutankhamen and Cleopatra," read Ron. Brenna looked over Ron's shoulder to read the parchment as well. Sure enough, that's what it said.  
"Fascinating!" exclaimed Hermione, "You know, your trip to Egypt may help you, Ron."  
"You seem to assume, Hermione, that I spent that particular summer holiday studying! Besides, the trip was two summers ago."  
"But why wouldn't anybody want to study ancient Egyptian wizards? I find them horribly fascinating . . ."  
"Who would have guessed," said Nyx.  
"Well, maybe you're right, it could have done me some good," said Ron.  
Hermione smirked at Ron, who was not happy about being proven wrong. Brenna smiled and shook her head at them.  
"You never told us what you got," Cho said to Hermione.  
"Oh, I guess I never did, did I?" said Hermione, "I chose Wendlin the Weird. That should definitely be fun!"  
"Looks like we've got a bit of work ahead of us," said Harry.  
"Nah, it'll be a synch!" said Nyx, punching Harry playfully on the arm. Harry rubbed his arm where Nyx had hit him.  
"I wonder what charm we'll be using?" Thursday thought aloud.  
Everyone was surprised to think that Hermione didn't already know the answer. Then suddenly she spoke.  
"I've read about this charm called the Cinderella Charm," said Hermione, "It was first used on a maiden named Cinderella. Her faerie godmother Faerlla created it. This charm, in simple terms, is a morphing charm and is used to make old things beautiful."  
Nyx gave a loud and exaggerated yawn. This launched everyone into laughter. When they finally all decided to start brainstorming, Brenna looked towards Ron. He was looking the parchment over as if to get an idea from it.  
"I wish I could remember something from my trip to Egypt," sighed Ron, "but all I remember is mutant skeletons and when me and my brothers tried to shut my other brother Percy in one of the tombs."  
Brenna giggled. "I didn't know you had brothers," she said.  
"Yup. I have five of them. Fred and George are twins, this is their last year at Hogwarts, and Percy works for the Ministry of Magic. Then there's Charlie who's in Romania working with dragons and Bill who's a curse breaker for Gringotts. Fred and George are pretty funny, and Bill and Charlie are pretty cool, but Percy, well his job at the Ministry seems to have changed him, even thought he was always a stuck up, rule-follower."  
"Wow, you have a big family!"  
"It's doesn't end there! I have a sister named Ginny. She's a year younger than me and has a huge crush on Harry - "  
Harry immediately turned around, trying to figure out who called his name. "What? Did I just hear my name?" he asked.  
"Ron was just telling me how his sister had a big crush on you," said Brenna. Harry began to blush and hurriedly turned around. Ron and Brenna laughed.  
"So, do you have any ideas?" asked Brenna.  
"Gold. That's the only thing I know because my mum thought I was trying to kip some of it. All I was doing was looking at it," said Ron.  
"We could go to the library and research it," suggested Brenna.  
"You know, I think I live in that library sometimes," said Ron, "Hermione always drags us there for one things or another."  
Brenna began to get an uneasy feeling in her stomach. In the back of her mind, she began to think that she might end up doing most of the work. That or else receive a lower grade for lack of preparation. "Well, we don't have to go . . ." she said.  
"I didn't mean we shouldn't go. I meant that since I've been there so much, it could help us find books a lot faster."  
Brenna blinked a few times before blushing horribly. "Oh, sorry."  
"No problem," said Ron, "We could go during the homework break. Maybe we could get Nyx, Harry, Hermione, Cho, Wolfe and Thursday to come with us."  
"Brilliant idea!" Suddenly, Ron was giving Brenna a strange look. It was then that she suddenly realized that Wolfe had crept up behind her and lain his head over her shoulder. "It's a date!" he said. Brenna gave a little shriek and Wolfe jumped back laughing.  
"So you'll meet us in the library then?" asked Ron.  
Wolfe nodded. "You can count us in! Have you asked the others yet?"  
"No," said Brenna meekly.  
"I will for you then," said Wolfe. He turned around to look towards the others, who were only a few feet away. "Hey, Harry, Hermione, Cho, Nyx!"  
All four of them turned towards him with startled looks on their faces. "Library, after class, 'kay?" said Wolfe with a wink.  
"Er, okay," replied Harry.  
"Good."  
  
I really like this chapter. My characters personalities are more developed here. The others are definitely OOC but my friends seem to like it, judging by the fact that they threaten me to finish my story. Don't forget to review 'cause I need some feedback. 


	8. A Secret Revealed

Please do note that all HP characters are property of JK Rowling. The characters of Nyx, Brenna, Thursday, Wolfe, Syke, and any other unrecognized names are property of Denise G., and ME (excluding any Hogwarts student only mentioned once in the real story)!!!!!  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
A Secret Revealed  
  
When the bell rang to end class, everyone quickly packed up their things and walked out of the room talking excitedly. Before leaving, Harry, Cho, Nyx, Wolfe, and Thursday agreed to meet Brenna and Ron in the library a bit later. When all had been arranged, Ron and Brenna walked themselves to the library while the others went to discard their things in their dormitories.  
"You have a lot of books," said Ron, eyeing Brenna's bulging backpack as they walked down the corridor.  
"I picked these up a few weeks ago to read," said Brenna, "I had to return them today."  
Ron laughed. "It's a good thing we are headed there," he said, "You seem just like Hermione, always having books around. Would you like some help?"  
"No thanks, I've got it."  
They walked in silence for a few seconds before someone spoke. "So, what kind of books do you have there?" asked Ron.  
"Just some Quidditch books. I wanted to see the selection your library had," said Brenna, "I read all of the books the library at Beauxbatons had about Quidditch."  
"Harry has a few you might like."  
"Awesome." Not noticing where they were going, they nearly collided with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. When Malfoy realized whom it was he ran into, he smiled vindictively at them. Brenna slowly began to cower behind Ron.  
"Got yourself a girlfriend, Weasley?" asked Malfoy, "She obviously took you for your fashion sense. That stylish 'no money' design is the 'in' thing now." He kicked at Ron's shoes, which were only barely visible underneath his faded robes. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled trollishly.  
"Buzz off, Malfoy," said Ron through gritted teeth.  
"I guess it couldn't be. She can't be your girlfriend. You'd have to sell your blood to be able to take her anywhere. Maybe you should find better company, Brenna."  
"I like the company I'm with, thank you," said Brenna quietly.  
Malfoy dropped his smile. "Well, then, just remember my threat." With that, he and his lackeys walked away.  
"One of these days he's gonna make contact with my fist again," said Ron angrily as he balled up his fist and shook it at Malfoy's retreating back.  
Brenna just nodded in answer, too afraid to speak. She and Ron continued their journey to the library in silence.  
Once in the library, Ron led Brenna to a table near the Restricted Section. After they'd settled in, Brenna saw the red haired boy that she'd seen earlier this morning. He was with, what appeared to be his twin. "Are those two your brothers?" asked Brenna as she pointed in their direction. She watched, as the two boys looked through a book a start chuckling madly every few seconds.  
Ron looked up at where she was pointing and gave a short laugh. "Yup, that's Fred and George."  
As if they had heard their names being called, Fred and George promptly made their way to Ron and Brenna's table. "Hello!" said one of the twins.  
"Hello," said Brenna uncertainly.  
"Saw you in that last Quidditch match against Slytherin," said the other, "Smashing good match!"  
"Thanks - "  
"I'm Gred, and he's Forge," said the first of the twins, "But you can just call me Fred."  
"And you can call me George!"  
"Would you like one of our lovely delicacies from a Skiving Snackbox?" asked Fred.  
"They are quite delicious!" added George.  
Ron leaned over to Brenna. "Don't take any food they offer, it's all enchanted," he whispered.  
"No thanks," said Brenna quickly.  
"Aw, Ronnie! You've spoiled our fun!" said Fred.  
"Yeah, it would have been loads of fun to see her turn into a great canary right here in the library!" exclaimed George.  
"Yeah, loads of fun," grumbled Ron under his breath.  
"Aw, we're not embarrassing you in front of your girlfriend now are we?"  
"She's not my girlfriend," said Ron. He then turned to Brenna and whispered to her. "No offence."  
"None taken," she said, smiling. She definitely liked the members of Ron's family, so far.  
"Well," said Fred, "we'll leave you two alone -"  
"Yes, we have loads to do!" said George, "Good day, Mademoiselle!" He took Brenna's hand and kissed it. Brenna blushed furiously and Ron was steaming as George and Fred left the library together, laughing.  
Harry, Hermione, Wolfe, Thursday, and Cho passed them on their way into the library. Ron spotted them and waved them over to the table he and Brenna were at.  
"Hey you lovebirds!" said Wolfe. Brenna raised an eyebrow at him as he ducked yet another blow from Nyx.  
"She's not my girlfriend! Why does everyone keep saying she's my girlfriend! Argh!" exclaimed Ron.  
"Oh my," said Harry, looking towards the library entrance.  
"What do you mean, 'Oh my'?" asked Wolfe as he began looking towards the library entrance as well. A boy with long blonde hair, and a somewhat feminine demeanor was scanning the library, as if looking for someone. "Dammit!" exclaimed Wolfe. Quickly, he got up and ducked behind a bookcase.  
"There's Syke," said Thursday, shaking her head, "Poor Wolfe."  
"Yeah, poor Wolfe," said Wolfe from behind the bookcase. They all laughed as everyone, except Brenna, Nyx, and Thursday began doing some research. Brenna watched as Ron scanned the selves looking for the right books. When she began to get up to try and help him, Nyx's strong grip held her down.  
"What do you think you're doing?" asked Nyx.  
"I'm going to help Ron," said Brenna, looking over at Harry who had walked over to Ron was now talking to him.  
"He's doesn't need your help, Ron's a big boy."  
Brenna shook her head. "Last time I took advice from you, I walked away with white hair. And let's not forget what colour yours was . . .."  
"Ok, ok!"  
Even though she'd won the argument, Brenna decided to remain at the table with Nyx and Thursday.  
"I think Brenna's turning into you, Nyx," said Thursday jokingly.  
"Is that such a bad thing? There's not nearly enough demon-werewolves in this world!"  
Brenna paled even more as her eyes popped open wide. Nyx looked only slightly alarmed on the information she'd just passed to Brenna. "Oops," said Nyx. Thursday shook her head.  
"You're a . . .a werewolf?!" squeaked Brenna.  
Nyx shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you were eventually bound to find out," she said, "Like I said to Malfoy, everyone's got a secret. Of course not everyone's is as interesting as being a werewolf, but hey, that's life."  
"You say it like it's so simple!"  
"Eh, what exactly can I do about it?"  
"Anything else I should know?"  
"I'm a vampire!" said Thursday.  
"How do you manage that? Don't you need blood?" asked Brenna weakly.  
"Snape makes her a potion so that raw meat satisfies her hunger," said Nyx. Then she leaned in close. "I'd be careful with a knife when you're around her. She can smell blood from a couple miles away, and when it's this close . . . well, you get the picture."  
Brenna didn't respond.  
"Everyone knows about Thursday being a vampire," said Nyx, "but no one knows she gets a human subject every month, and no one knows I'm what I am except for Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Wolfe and even they don't know the whole truth. It needs to stay that way." Brenna slowly nodded. "Excellent! Now, what's your secret?"  
Brenna paled tremendously until her skin resembled Thursday's. Fortunately enough she didn't have to answer because everyone was back with a small armload of books. Wolfe was hiding behind Ron, who was looking very annoyed because of it.  
"Wolfe," hissed Ron, "Get over it! He's going to see you eventually."  
"I'm just delaying the inevitable then," replied Wolfe. Ron just rolled his eyes.  
"What kind of books did you find?" asked Brenna. Ron's sour look instantly turned into a smile.  
"Well, see for your self," said Ron. He spread the three books he'd found on the table. "Hopefully we can find what we need in these."  
"I found some very interesting books," said Hermione. She unloaded at least five books onto the table with a thud. Cho followed her example with her four books.  
"I think you're overdoing it," said Ron.  
"You can never be too prepared," said Cho.  
"Wolfie-baby!" exclaimed an extremely girly male voice. Wolfe groaned and slid down in his eat as the blonde haired boy quickly made his way to the table. If Ron hadn't said that Syke was gay, it wouldn't have been hard for her to tell.  
Syke slipped into a seat next to Wolfe and scooted his chair as close as he could to Wolfe's. Then he looked over at Brenna. "Oh! I've seen you here before!" exclaimed Syke, "You've been running around with Wolfie and the others."  
"Uh, yeah," said Brenna awkwardly, watching Wolfe lean away from Syke.  
"So, has anyone found anything interesting yet?" asked Harry as he choked back a laugh.  
"Oh, I have," said Cho. She turned her book so that the others could see the picture that she had found. The girl in the photo was dancing with someone, possibly Oberon, and was wearing what appeared to be a skirt made out of many layers of a floaty, iridescent blue material. It was worn over a sky blue leotard and the girl also had a large crown of white lilies on top of an elegant pile of curls on the girl's head. "Isn't it beautiful?"  
"The girl or the costume?" asked Wolfe, "And would you please get off of me, Syke! I'm straight!"  
"Oh but, Wolfie-baby!" whined Syke, "Wouldn't you rather have me instead?"  
"For the last time: I-AM-NOT-GAY! THAT MEANS I LIKE GIRLS!"  
"But Wolfie . . . ."  
"I think Cho means the costume," said Hermione.  
"Stupid Egyptian art!" exclaimed Ron.  
"What's wrong?" asked Brenna.  
"Why did they have to draw things so . . . so flat! I can't find a good picture of Tutankhamen or Cleopatra."  
"Well, I've had better luck than you then. I've found some sculptures of Cleopatra and a wonderful picture of Tutankhamen's death mask." Brenna showed Ron a picture of the death mask, which was twinkling brightly in the light.  
"Lemme see." Ron leaned much closer to Brenna, which caused Wolfe to throw at catcall whistle at them. As Ron gave Wolfe a dirty look, Nyx shot another blow to Wolfe's head and this time her aim was true. Wolfe was knocked off balance in his chair and he landed on top of Syke. An overjoyed Syke tightly wrapped his arms around Wolfe's neck. Terrified, Wolfe only just managed to slip away from Syke's grip and run out of the library. Syke ran out after him shouting, "Wait for me, Wolfie!"  
Everyone at the table burst into the hysterical laughter they had been holding since Syke had arrived. Unfortunately they had been laughing so loud that it caught the attention of Madame Pince who came over and told them they would have to leave if they weren't quieter.  
When they all eventually stopped laughing, Thursday began gathering up hers and Wolfe's things. "I'd better go and track him down," said Thursday, "He's bound to have transformed to get away from him." She then waved her good byes and walked out oft the library.  
"Maybe this wasn't the best of ideas. We are all too overexcited to do any real studying," said Hermione.  
"Oh come on!" said Nyx, "You were having too."  
It was true. Try as she might to stop it, a playful smile fell across Hermione's face. "Are you guys coming?" Hermione asked Harry and Ron.  
"Oh yeah!" said Harry, "We need to ask Nearly Headless Nick if he knows anything about ravens."  
"Oh you and that bloody raven!" said Ron as he rolled his eyes. He turned to Brenna. "Sorry about this. Maybe we could get together soon and finish this up?"  
"Sure, how about after lunch?" said Brenna smiling.  
Ron blushed. "Brilliant! See you then!" Harry, Hermione, and Ron left the library. Brenna swore she heard Ron say to Harry, "No she is NOT my girlfriend, will you PLEASE stop asking me that!"  
Cho sighed. "See," said Cho, "It's pointless trying to study during this period!"  
"You're right," said Brenna wistfully, still looking at the doorway. Cho held back a laugh a she convinced Brenna to pack up her things and leave with her.  
  
Excellent, but fairly pointless, chapter if I do say so myself. Please review, dammit! 


	9. A New Point of View

Please do note that all HP characters are property of JK Rowling. The characters of Nyx, Brenna, Thursday, Wolfe, Syke, and any other unrecognized names are property of Denise G., and ME (excluding any Hogwarts student only mentioned once in the real story)!!!!!  
  
A/N: This chapter, for the most part, is in Ron's POV.  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
A New Point of View  
  
In the two weeks they had to prepare, Brenna and Ron worked hard on their assignment. During the homework breaks, they sat at a table with books open in front of them, and getting to know each other. Most of the time Ron spent making Brenna laugh. They found out that they had a lot in common. Neither would admit it outright, but they liked each other a great deal.  
It was now the day of the Halloween feast. Everyone had finished transfiguring their costume and had received a grade on it earlier that day. McGonagall complimented Ron and Brenna on their clever use of the Cinderella Charm and they received high marks, as well as Harry, Hermione, Nyx, Thursday, and Cho. It brings tears of laughter to Brenna and Padma's eyes everytime they remind themselves on the day they learned the charm. On her first go, as was told to Ron, Brenna had managed to turn Professor Flitwick's robes into a glittery pink ball gown, complete with wings and matching crown. Flitwick kindly reminded to imagine herself as a faerie godmother, not her subject.  
Ron waited nervously in the Gryffindor commonroom. Even though he'd managed to make a nearly flawless costume, McGonagall commented that his gold trim looked more yellow than gold, he was pacing the floor anxiously. He'd transfigured a very old pair of robes into a white tunic with short sleeves and gold like trim. The blue and gold like headdress looked so real he'd fooled many of his classmates.  
Harry was just as nervous a Ron, except he was sitting in a chair by the fireplace. He transfigured some gloves to resemble the scabbed, decaying hands of a dementor, but the gray dementor robes concealed them for now. "Will you stop pacing?" asked Harry, "You're making me dizzy."  
"I'm too nervous," mumbled Ron.  
"Nervous? What would you have to be nervous about? I thought you didn't like Brenna that way."  
"I don't. Besides, you look just as nervous as I do," Ron pointed out.  
Harry blushed. "Oh, I'm just worried about Nyx. She wasn't feeling well at lunch today." "Did you see how pale she was?"  
"Are you guys ready?" asked a familiar voice from afar. Ron and Harry looked towards the stairway to the boys and girls dormitories. Hermione stood at the top of the stairs wearing a gown to represent all of the forty- seven disguises Wendlin the Weird wore during her lifetime of witch burnings. Nyx was leaning against the wall and wearing red haori pants and a white kosode shirt. She'd managed to pile all her dull black hair onto her head, and stationed it there with two well-placed chopsticks. Unfortunately she looked weaker and paler than ever; even her scars seemed invisible against her skin. The effect of the two girls was absolutely ravishing. Harry and Ron stood open mouth staring at the two. Hermione uncharacteristically giggled at them.  
"Your costumes look great," said Hermione.  
"Thanks," said Ron, "So do yours."  
"Well, let's not just stand around here, we've got a feast to attend," said Nyx as she came down the staircase.  
"Are you sure you want to go?" asked Harry, "I mean, if you're not feeling well you should rest . . . ."  
"I'm fine," said Nyx.  
"Ok," said Harry uncertainly. He offered his arm to her and she seemed to perk up a little. He led Nyx out of the commonroom.  
Ron did the same thing for Hermione as she descended the staircase.  
"Well, shall we?" asked Ron.  
Hermione smiled and nodded and took hold of Ron's arm. Ron and Hermione walked out of Gryffindor Tower and on to the Great Hall.  
  
Large crowds of students blocking the entrance greeted Ron and Hermione in the Great Hall. They had to push their way through the crowd just to get in, but they were met by even more people just standing around.  
"Ugh, it's so crowded in here!" exclaimed Hermione.  
"I know," said Ron, "How am I going to find Brenna?"  
"How about I go and look for her, while you go find the others," suggested Hermione.  
"Good idea," said Ron.  
With that being said, Ron and Hermione then split apart to find the others. As Ron wove through the crowds of people, he met up with fellow housemates and complemented their costumes. Finally he met up with Wolfe and Thursday, who were wearing colour coded Renaissance garb, who led him to where Harry and Nyx had planted themselves.  
"Hey guys," said Ron, "Have you seen Brenna?"  
"No," said Nyx pitifully. She had placed her head on the table so that her face could no longer be seen. Her hands, however, had almost become translucent in colour.  
"Nyx!" exclaimed Thursday, "Your hands!"  
Nyx then hastily slipped her hands within the large sleeves of her kosode shirt. "I'm fine," she repeated.  
"You don't look fine, you look -" started Harry. Unfortunately he was interrupted by the arrival of Hermione, Cho, Padma, and Brenna.  
"Hello everyone," said Cho. Ron and the others saw that she had managed to beautifully recreate the costume in the photograph she'd shown them all during their first library visit. Padma was dressed as the American witch Annie Sullivan, complete with smoked glasses and red hair. Then everyone got a look at Brenna, and everyone's jaw dropped to the ground.  
Brenna was wearing a very simple, white silk, strapless tunic, with an imitation gold chain as a belt. The tunic hugged her features showing off the curves no had seen before. The simplicity of the dress equaled out the extravagant jewelry she wore; lots of thick gold like bracelets with blue and red glass mosaic inlays, a snake cuff on her upper arm, and earrings in the shape of ankhs. A thin band of gold like metal, bearing the miniscule statue of a serpent, wrapped around a wig of delicate shoulder length braids. Somehow, she had also managed to colour her skin, making it deeply tan against her black eyeliner and gold tinted lips.  
Ron was particularly astonished, for no one expected what they saw. Not that Brenna wasn't beautiful, it was just that she was one of those people who would wear shorts only if it got to 110º, and getting her into a dress would have been about as impossible as Nyx being nice to everyone all the time. Ron had found himself staring open mouth at her. Brenna giggled at him. As Ron stared, he vaguely heard Cho whisper to Hermione, "She's been so excited about tonight that I don't even think she's eaten all day!"  
"Hey, Brenn, looks like your partner is a bit tongue tied," said Padma. Everyone, except Nyx who still had her head buried in her arms, laughed as Ron shook his head and came back to reality.  
"Er, hi," said Ron.  
Brenna giggled again. "Hi yourself."  
"Guess you just can't get enough of us Ravenclaw women, eh, Ron!" said Padma, as she nudged Ron.  
Ron still didn't answer.  
"I guess not," said Wolfe.  
By now, everyone in the school had found a seat at one of the four long tables, since the house tables had been disregarded for the evening.  
"Why don't we all sit down?" suggested Cho, just as a magnificent meal sprouted onto the table. Wolfe, Thursday, Brenna, and Padma all nodded as they sat down. Ron was still staring at Brenna when he slipped into his seat. He seemed incapable of speech. All he could think about was how beautiful Brenna looked.  
"It looks like everyone did an excellent job on their costumes," said Harry, eyeing Cho.  
Ron finally regained his senses entirely, although he said nothing.  
Wolfe leaned in and tried to look at Nyx. Apparently he noticed the lack of colour in her skin and said, "How'd you get you skin to look like that?" Obviously that's the wrong thing to say to a half demon, half werewolf because Wolfe soon had landed on the floor.  
"Speaking of skin colour, how did you get your skin to look like that?" Ron asked Brenna as Wolfe wearily picked himself up off the ground.  
"I found the recipe for a potion that alters the melanin content of human skin," she replied, pulling out a hip flask. "I brought some for you if you want it."  
"Sure," said Ron. He accepted the flask and took a swig. Instantly Ron's skin began to darken, evening out his skin tone and making his freckles disappear.  
"Wow! That was pretty cool!" said Wolfe as Ron handed the hip flask back to Brenna.  
"Thanks," said Brenna, "I made it yesterday in Potions. I made sure Nyx was no where around when I made it!" Everyone laughed, except for Nyx.  
"I resent that!" replied Nyx. Brenna looked down and saw Nyx with her head down on the table.  
"Nyx are you okay?" asked Brenna worriedly.  
"I'M FINE!" came Nyx's muffled yell.  
"She was been like this since we got here," Ron whispered to Brenna, "This might get her to say something."  
Ron straightened up in his seat. "No one knows what's wrong with her," he said loudly, "She probably just wants attention."  
Nyx quickly jerked her head up off the table. "SHUT UP! You don't know what you're talking about!"  
Everyone gasped. Nyx paused for a moment before giving a short moan and covering her face with her hands, but unfortunately the damage was done. Everyone had seen the change and they were all shocked. Harry reached up and gently pulled Nyx's hands away from her face, just to confirm what he saw. What they saw was real. Nyx had turned normal.  
Ron looked and saw that her skin was now translucent instead of tan and her scars had faded away. Her ears that were once pointed were now rounded like normal human ears, and they could only guess that her fangs had disappeared. Reluctantly she looked up and met Harry's gaze. He could see that her eyes had changed from ice blue to an inky black, no doubt connecting her genetically to his godfather Sirius Black.  
"Oh my goodness!" exclaimed Hermione "What happened!"  
"What's the commotion over here!" Snape hissed. Snape had just arrive to see what everyone was gaping at.  
"Great! Now I have an audience!" Nyx groaned as she slid under the table. Snape was now looking at a dark figure, Nyx, that sat underneath the table.  
"Miss Black, will you for once act normally and sit in your seat!" sighed Snape lazily.  
Nyx reluctantly complied and came out from underneath the table. "God's sakes when I said to act normal, I didn't expect you to try and look it! Stop fooling around." With that, Snape headed back to the high table to finish his meal.  
"This isn't a joke," said Nyx angrily to his retreating back.  
"You know, I've heard this kind of thing happens to demons who are not fully demon," said Wolfe, poking at Nyx's now rounded ears, "It happens a lot during the new moon." As soon as that had been said, he poked his fingers in her mouth and gasped. "No fangs!"  
Wolfe quickly ended up on the floor again.  
"Well, maybe we should get started in on this food," said Harry, "Maybe you'll even feel better."  
There was a chorus of agreements as they all piled food onto their plates. Thursday was close to tears when she saw her dinner.  
"They ruined it!" she wailed, "It's medium rare!"  
"Don't worry," said Wolfe, "you'll have the real thing soon." No one found this statement to be weird because they were too busy eating.  
Harry looked over at Nyx and noticed she had yet to eat anything. "Nyx, you really need to eat something," he said. He picked up a caramel apple and set it down on her plate. "Eat this, or else," he said defiantly.  
  
Nyx smirked at him. "Normally I'm the one who threatens you with 'or else'," she said, "I'm surprised you've become so brave even though you know what I am."  
"Well, for right now you don't exactly fit your normal personality so I'll take the chance," said Harry, "Now eat!"  
Nyx picked up the apple and raised it to her mouth as if to eat it. Harry turned his attention back to his own plate, seemingly convinced Nyx was actually going to eat. Nyx, however, simply laid the apple on the plate of the person sitting next to her (That person just happened to be Lee Jordan. He was pleasantly surprised at the newfound desert and began eating it without questioning where it came from.).  
When the meal had been consumed and the deserts demolished, it was around eleven o'clock and the entire school was still stationed in their seats and talking happily. No one had any intention of moving until Fred and George Weasley ran back into the Great Hall.  
"Hey everyone!" yelled George, "Come outside!"  
"Yeah, there's a festival set up out here on the grounds!" exclaimed Fred.  
An excited murmur fell on the Great Hall as the students all quickly filed out. Ron unconsciously grabbed Brenna's hand and led her out of the Great Hall.  
The normally short journey to the front lawn was lengthened by the amount of students trying to push through. But when Ron and Brenna finally got outside, it was an amazing sight that greeted them. Games of many kinds where set up in a semi circle as well as candy booths. Just as a handful of tickets were crammed into Ron's hands, he recognized a booth displaying several candies that were sold at Honeydukes in Hogsmeade. Already Wolfe and Thursday were there, and Wolfe was handing her a Blood Lollipop as Thursday barely contained her excitement. All of this was contained within a boundary that went out to just twenty feet in front of the Forbidden Forest.  
"What should we do first?" said Brenna.  
It was then that he realized he was holding her hand. After looking deeply into her chestnut eyes, Ron gave her hand a squeeze. "How 'bout bobbing for apples?" he said. Brenna smiled and nodded as they both briskly walked over to the first game booth and began to play.  
Just as Brenna placed a water-repellent charm on her face and hair, Ron heard the sound of music floating over to him. He looked over and saw that a dance floor had been set up and that quite a few people had already taken advantage of it. "Hey, Brenna. Want to dance?" he asked. He turned and faced Brenna and was met with a startling surprise. She had an overly large red apple in her mouth. Quickly she pulled it out and nodded sheepishly. This time she grabbed his hand and took him all the way to the dance floor.  
The music appeared to be coming from nowhere in particular. Each note just floated over them like a waterfall or in this case a raging rapid. They quickly fell into beat and danced to the upbeat tune. They continued to dance for nearly half an hour until a much slower song came on. Flushed and somewhat tired, they moved in close and began to sway in time to the music.  
"Tonight's been really fun," said Brenna and she leaned against Ron's shoulder. Ron felt his face turn red all the way to the tips of his ears.  
"Yeah," he replied, "Your costume really does look amazing."  
"Thank you."  
They had been dancing in silence for a moment when they saw Nyx and Harry enter the dance floor. For some reason this gave Ron an idea. He wanted to ask his partner a very daring question, but he was afraid. He pondered on it a moment longer before taking a deep breath. "Er, Brenna?" he said. Brenna slowly lifted her head and met his gaze. "Er, I was wondering . . . I was wondering if you'd -"  
"Ah, hello Weasley!" said a familiar drawling voice. Ron felt Brenna shudder in his arms as he turned to face Malfoy, who was dancing with Pansy Parkinson. Both he and Pansy were dressed like vampires.  
"Malfoy," growled Ron.  
"Good evening, Brenna," he said hauntingly.  
"Hello," squeaked Brenna as she attempted to hide from Malfoy's view.  
"So, having fun with your girlfriend, Weasley? You're quite lucky that these game ticket were free, or else you'd be sitting alone in your room, unable to take Ollivander here on a date." Pansy giggled at Malfoy's insult.  
Ron released Brenna and hid her from view. "Shut it, Malfoy."  
"Well, have it your way then," drawled Malfoy. Then strangely, without another word, he maneuvered Pansy away from Ron and Brenna.  
"Oh, I just hate him so much!" whispered Brenna and Ron turned back towards her. She still appeared to be shaking a bit.  
"It's not really that hard to hate him," said Ron, "but any way-"  
"Students, please return to your dormitories," came McGonagall's magnified voice," It's getting quite late."  
A load groan fell over the students as they reluctantly made their way back to the castle.  
As Ron and Brenna made their way to the castle doors, they met up with Hermione, Harry, and Nyx.  
"Tonight was a genuinely brilliant night!" exclaimed Hermione.  
"Yeah," said Harry, "You know this is probably the first Halloween since I've been here that nothing bad has happened to me or the school."  
At that very moment, the howl of a lone wolf sounded from the forest. Nyx suddenly stopped in her tracks.  
"What's wrong, Nyx?" asked Brenna.  
"Isis . . . alone?" said Nyx. She seemed rather confused by her own statement.  
"That was Isis, your wolf right?" asked Harry, "What's wrong?"  
"Isis . . . Isis and Ka always howl together," said Nyx weakly, "Ka wasn't . . . he wasn't howling tonight. Something must be wrong." Immediately she turned and bolted for the forest. But before she had a chance to even move, Snape intercepted her.  
"Where do you think you're going?" Snape hissed, "You know perfectly well you are not allowed into the forest."  
"LET ME GO!" growled Nyx.  
"I will not! You are purposefully trying to cause mayhem - HEY! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" Nyx had wiggled her self out of Snape's hands and was now on her way to the forest. Instinctively, Ron and the others started in after her, but they too were intercepted by Snape. "I hope you don't think you four are going in after her!" he snarled.  
"But, sir, Nyx is in trouble!" exclaimed Harry.  
"We have to help her!" said Hermione.  
"Oh really," Snape said, his tone dripping with sarcasm, "And how do you suppose you are going to help her? By getting killed yourself?!"  
"But-"  
"No buts! All of you go back to your commonrooms. I'll go and get Hagrid. If I find that any of you have disobeyed my orders, you'll have detention for a month." With that said, Snape turned and waded through the crowd to Hagrid's cabin.  
As soon as Snape was out of earshot, Harry began to speak. "Ok, this is what we do -"  
"Wait a minute!" interrupted Hermione," What do you think you are doing?"  
"Looks like he's got a plan to help Nyx," said Ron lazily.  
"Hey, what's going on?" asked Wolfe. Ron turned and watched as Wolfe and Thursday approached. "We just saw Snape mumbling something about 'those annoying students trying to get into the forest' and we figured it had something to do with Nyx."  
"Yeah," said Thursday worriedly, "is it true?"  
"Unfortunately," said Harry. Then suddenly, Harry's eyes widen and he looked as though a brilliant idea had struck him. "Hey, you're a werewolf, right!" Harry said in a tone a little louder than it should have been.  
"Shhh!" said Wolfe worriedly, looking around to see if anyone had heard.  
"Yeah! You can transform and go into the forest after Nyx!" encouraged Ron.  
"You are all insane!" exclaimed Hermione.  
"Why haven't you gone?" said Wolfe irritably.  
"Divine intervention," snarled Ron.  
"You're a werewolf too?" asked Brenna quietly.  
"You didn't get that from the pointy ears?" Ron whispered to Brenna. She just shook her head.  
"Nevermind that," Wolfe said, "Harry, you make sure that Thursday gets her beater stick it could come in handy." Soon he had transforming into the silver grey werewolf and ran into the forest.  
"You all are completely mad!" exclaimed Hermione.  
"Why? He just want to see that Nyx doesn't get hurt, you know how vulnerable she is right now," said Harry.  
"Well, yes, but we should still wait for Hagrid."  
A low moan was heard and Ron felt a set of fingernails being driven into his skin. "Ow!" he exclaimed, not quite realizing whom it was. When Ron looked over a second late, he saw that Brenna was doubled over and clutching her sides. She appeared to be in a great deal of pain.  
"Brenna? What's wrong?" asked Harry worriedly.  
"Nothing," she grimaced in a barely audible whisper.  
Ron bent down to her. "Then why are you -"  
Brenna cut off Ron's last words by tearing off into the forest.  
"Brenna!" yelled Ron after her.  
"On no," moaned Hermione.  
"Accio Beater Stick!" yelled Thursday. Seconds later the wooden club zoomed across the grounds and into Thursday's hand. Without a moments thought, she sped off into the forest as well. Ron and the others ran after her, with Ron saying to Harry, "I think you spoke too soon, mate."  
  
Whoa. FINGER CRAMPS! To save the pain in my joints, kudos to Denise for the inspiration for the happenings in this chapter. PLEASE REVIEW! 


	10. The Grudge Match

Please do note that all HP characters are property of JK Rowling. The characters of Nyx, Brenna, Thursday, Wolfe, Syke, and any other unrecognized names are property of Denise G., and ME (excluding any Hogwarts student only mentioned once in the real story)!!!!!  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
The Grudge Match  
  
It was two days after Halloween and Brenna sat in the Great Hall, pushing a serving of scrambled eggs around her plate. She was one of the few at the table simply because she had woken up much earlier than when many of the students normally would. Brenna just couldn't sleep, with the actions the night two days before playing over in her mind like broken slides of a projector.  
Brenna vaguely remembered finding herself on the floor of the Forbidden Forest, her costume in tatters with people running about. Before that she remembers seeing someone and wanting to attack, but something held her back and she scampered away. It's then when the scene plays straight to the hospital wing. Everyone within the room is in various states of injury; Ron and Harry cut and bruised to high heaven, Nyx was back to normal and shivering, Thursday without her Beaters club and paler than anyone could think possible, Wolfe with claw marks all over his face and arms, and Hermione knocked out cold (Apparently she had been knocked out by Thursday who had been found by Hermione beating a tree senseless because she thought it was stalking her). Snape, Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall were all there giving them the lecture of their lives. After that, nothing is clear. Now Brenna sat in her thoughts, not eating and waiting for the day to end.  
"Hey, Brenn!" exclaimed a familiar voice. Looking up she saw Padma, Terry, and Mandy making their way to her. Brenna quickly shoved a forkful of egg into her mouth and swallowed it without chewing.  
"Good morning," Brenna replied.  
"You came in awful late last night," said Terry in a very hinting tone.  
"Yes, it couldn't have anything to do with that Gryffindor, Ron would it?" said Mandy, filling the nearest bowl with oatmeal.  
"Well, I - "stared Brenna.  
"Morning everyone!" said Cho cheerily, taking a seat next to Brenna, "What going on?"  
"Oh, we were just asking Brenna about her and that Gryffindor," said Terry.  
"You mean Ron? Let's just leave her alone, whatever happened last night is her business." Brenna shot a grateful look at Cho, who winked at her.  
"Anyway, who's excited for the Hogsmeade trip?"asked Padma.  
"Woo Hoo! Hogsmeade!" yelled Terry.  
"Me too," said Mandy.  
Brenna merely nodded. Yes she knew about the trip, but it didn't seem very important anymore. "Er - yeah," she said, "It'll be good to get out of the castle for a while."  
"I am very much craving a butterbeer," said Mandy as Cho picked up a bunch of grapes from a platter.  
"That does sound good," said Padma, "Hey, I have and idea. How about we - OW!" A piece of parchment folded up into the form of an airplane collided with the side of Padma's head."What the - " she opened it and scoffed. "Ever heard of an owl, Nyx!" she called to the Gryffindor table.  
"Bite me!" came the reply.  
"It's for you," said Padma, thrusting the parchment towards Brenna.  
Brenna took the parchment from the annoyed Padma and began to read the note aloud:  
  
Brenna -  
Meet us outside the Shrieking Shack today.  
  
NYx  
  
"Oh I was hoping we could all have a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks!"said Padma.  
"You haven't spent much time with us at all," said Mandy.  
"I know, but we can still meet," said Brenna, "We don't have to be back until five o'clock right? We can meet about a half an hour before that!"  
"But you always hang out with Nyx!" whined Terry.  
"I know. But I have a feeling this is important."  
  
Brenna wrapped her cloak a little tighter around her shoulders as she walked down the main street of Hogsmeade. The day was cool, but the wind made it quite cold. She'd been walking down the street for a while, looking for the Shrieking Shack without luck. She let out a huge sigh and continued on her path down the road.  
Finally after what seemed like ages, she found the Shrieking Shack and Nyx, Harry, Hermione, Thursday and Ron were all there. "There you are!" said Thursday.  
"Um, hello," replied Brenna as she walked up to the group.  
"'Bout time," muttered Nyx.  
"But I couldn't find the shack -."started Brenna.  
"Looks like you found it," said Nyx, gesturing to the boarded up house behind her. Brenna just nodded and looked at the ground. "Now, were just waiting for Wolfe," said Nyx.  
"I wonder where he could be," said Thursday.  
"I'm here," said a miserable voice.  
Everyone turned to see Wolfe slumping over to them with Syke very close behind. "Hey everyone," Wolfe said.  
"Er - hi, "said Harry awkwardly. Hermione gave Wolfe a puzzled look, almost as if she wanted to say something, but thought better of it.  
"So, Wolfe, looks like you've gotten a new accessory there," stated Ron plainly.  
Wolfe shot a dirty look at Ron. "Yeah, well this is my punishment; to have Syke magically bound to me," said Wolfe, "He must be within three feet of me or else . . . . well I don't really wanna find out the 'or else' part. Of course I really haven't had much trouble with that yet," Wolfe added disgustedly as Syke snuggled in closer and propped his head on Wolfe's shoulder. "What did you guys get?"  
"Ron, Nyx, Hermione and I all got stuck doing a good wash down of the hospital wing. That or else no Hogsmeade visits," said Harry, "Guess which one we chose."  
"I'm not allowed to have my favourite sweets for a month!" whimpered Thursday, "AND I WANT A BLOOD LOLLY RIGHT NOW!"  
"I have to maintain all the school brooms for a month," said Brenna.  
"Speaking of broomsticks," interjected Hermione, "Has anyone else noticed that, all of you who play anyway, are still playing Quidditch?"  
"Everyone is too concerned about ours houses chance to win the Cup," said Ron.  
Silence fell over the group and Brenna readily suspected they were playing the events of Halloween over again in there heads. Brenna thought for a moment before deciding not to say anything. Unfortunately, Harry had obviously chosen to do the opposite.  
"Last night was . . . er . . . interesting to say the least," he said.  
"Interesting isn't quite the right word," said Wolfe, "More like strange and frightening."  
"Let's walk."  
Everyone began walking down the path in an almost solemn manner. Brenna was not very keen on saying much, mostly because she was afraid to although she wasn't quite sure why. "I swear, it seems as though more creatures pop out of that forest every time we go in!" said Ron disgustedly.  
"Then maybe we shouldn't always end up in the forest then," said Hermione sternly.  
Ron threw her a dirty look. "I mean that, besides Nyx and Wolfe, did anyone else notice that other animal?" he asked.  
"Yeah," replied Nyx, "I remember seeing it stare at you and running away. You were almost dog food!"  
"I only caught a glimpse of it. I really don't remember much after that," said Hermione with a sideways glance at Thursday ("Sorry!" Thursday squeaked.). "It looked similar to the werewolf, except the ears were much longer and it sort of had a mane around it's neck."  
"What animal could that possibly be?" asked Harry.  
"I bet it's a nemesis!"  
Brenna began to fidget nervously. "I saw it run away," she said.  
Nyx glanced at Brenna through slitted eyes. "Where were you last night anyways? I don't quite recall seeing you - ," she asked suspiciously.  
"I passed out Nyx!" replied Brenna angrily, "Shove off!"  
Nyx issued a low growl and Wolfe quickly intervened. "Lay off you guys! We were all separated last night and you know that!" he said.  
"You tell 'em Wolfie!" sighed Syke.  
"Stuff it," growled Wolfe dangerously.  
"Look, what ever happened last night wasn't an accident!" Harry quickly cut in, "But what happened to Ka wasn't done by some unknown animal! Especially if it didn't harm us."  
"So what about that Quidditch match next week?" asked Nyx loudly. Clearly, the discussion on Ka was closed.  
  
Two weeks later, Brenna, Padma, and Cho waited in the Great Hall. Although Cho showed no signs of strain, they all ate very little and Mandy and Terry's futile attempts to psych them up weren't working.  
"At least Nyx isn't Seeker this game at least," said Mandy.  
Terry scoffed. "Yeah, like that'll make feel better," she retorted, "She find a way to send them all to the hospital wing before the day ends!"  
Mandy rolled her eyes. "Way to go, Terry."  
"Well, it's true . . . ."  
Cho sighed. "Well, team. Let's head to the locker rooms," she said. Brenna, Padma, Stewart, Joshua, Justin, and Ashton stood solemnly and made their way to the locker rooms.  
"Prepare for defeat, RavenBirds!" called Nyx to their retreating backs.  
  
Once in the locker rooms everyone changed into their blue and grey robes and began putting on the protective gear. Through the wall, Nyx's frenzied cries were heard. "Quidditch, Quidditch, Quidditch!" she yelled. Brenna shook her head. For the past two weeks Nyx had been dropping hints, on the hour every hour, about the outcome of the match. No one at Hogwarts had any doubt on Nyx's standing.  
"You don't think Nyx is excited for today's match do you?" asked Padma blandly.  
"No, really," said Justin playfully, giving Padma nudge. Padma began to blush.  
Brenna, who was completely dressed, was fumbling with the strings on her robes. Many images of herself laying on the field, finger twitching, with a worried Cho leaning over and asking if she was alive. Strangely enough, the image of Cho disappeared and replaced itself with one of Ron, and her worries somewhat dissipated.  
BOOM! Everyone on the Ravenclaw, except for Cho who didn't seem to be fazed by the blast, turned. A hole had been blasted in the wall and Nyx was standing amongst the rubble and cloud of dust with her wand at the ready.  
"C'mon! LET'S PLAY!" said Nyx as she began to twirl her wand wickedly. Silver sparks began to shoot out of the end of Nyx's wand and Brenna exchanged horrified glances with the rest of the team. "Let's go people, I haven't got all day!" continued Nyx impatiently as she ushered the Ravenclaw team out of the locker room. As they were being led out, Brenna could see Harry waiting to enter the stadium, shaking his head. She went over and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up at her and a smile crept onto his face.  
"Why are you smirking?" asked Brenna.  
"Because that's the fifth hole Nyx has blasted into the wall," replied Harry.  
"Oh God . . ."  
"Don't worry about the wall," said George, "what you need to worry about is if they'll be enough beds in the hospital wing for you all."  
Before anyone had a chance to react, the doors flung open revealing the lush green Quidditch pitch and the excited fans. Brenna and the rest of the Ravenclaws mounted their brooms and kicked off. Everyone flew onto the field. The spectators exploded into thunderous applause and Brenna smiled as she flew a warm up lap around the pitch.  
As the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor teams finished some warm up laps, Brenna could hear an argument between Wolfe and Professor McGonagall over the magical megaphone.  
"Were is Lee? It's his day to commentate!" exclaimed McGonagall with a glance at Thursday who had come up with Wolfe, "You know perfectly well that -."  
"Relax! He . . . er . . . asked me to fill in for him today," replied Wolfe, "On his way to the hospital wing."  
"Lee would have informed me himself -."  
"Believe me, Professor, he was in no condition to say much to anyone . . . ."  
McGonagall raised her eyebrow, but said nothing more. Wolfe pumped his fist into the air and pick up the megaphone. "Well it's a beautiful day for Quidditch!" he exclaimed. The crowd laughed as they collectively looked up at the grey sky. Today was anything but beautiful. "Anyway," he continued, "Today's match should be a fierce one as the Ravenclaw players prepare for their defeat -."  
"WOLFE!"  
"Sorry, perhaps defeat was the wrong wording . . . ."  
Brenna chuckled slightly as she hovered above the ground at the ready. The game was about to start and the Chasers from both teams had gathered in the center. Directly across from her was Nyx, who was now dragging her forefinger across her throat in a threatening manner.  
"On my whistle!" called Madame Hooch. Brenna put her game face on and waited for the signal. "Three . . . two . . . one!" and the whistle was blown. Brenna, Joshua, and Ashton zoomed upwards as the Quaffle was released and Joshua seized it.  
"Looks like Ravenclaw has started today's game with Davies in possession of the Quaffle. He passes it to Quickle who just narrowly misses being run into by George Weasley."  
"That was Fred! I'm George!" shouted George angrily.  
"Whatever. Anyway, Quickle passes to Davies once more and they speed towards the goal posts with Gryffindor close behind - Ouch! A Bludger hit by Ackerly just barely misses Katie Bell of Gryffindor. That was a close one! And don't forget ladies, my Friday night is wide open!"said Wolfe.  
Joshua passed the Quaffle off to Brenna and motioned for her to go for the goal. Brenna gave a quick nod of understanding and crouched close to her Nimbus 2001, zooming towards the goal posts. She could easily hear the Ravenclaw stands burst into applause and cheers.  
Suddenly and completely out of nowhere, Brenna heard a whizzing sound and felt the tips of her fingers stinging. Stunned, she looked down and watched as the Quaffle fell into the open arms of Nyx. "Whoa! Fancy moves made by one of those Weasley guys!" shouted Wolfe, " Now Nyx Black hands the Quaffle off to Alicia Spinnet who quickly maneuvers her way across the field . . . and she scores giving Gryffindor and early lead!"  
In the stands, the Gryffindors cheered wildly. Hermione and . . . well Hermione in particular. Ron had only managed a quiet, "Go Gryffindor," and a feeble wave of his house flag. But thank goodness nobody really noticed.  
"And Ollivander takes the Quaffle. She hands it to Davies and he passes it to - yikes! Looks like Nyx is going straight into her take-out- the-enemy techniques, starting with the Ravenclaw Chasers," said Wolfe.  
Cho frantically searched for one of the Beaters on the Ravenclaw team, and it wasn't long before Justin flew by. "Justin! Do something before Nyx gets out of control!"  
Justin looked back at her hopelessly. "What should I do!" he called to her.  
"Anything!"  
Nervously, Justin gulped and sped away to find a spare Bludger.  
"And Gryffindor is in possession of the Quaffle as Nyx Black barrels towards the goal posts," said Wolfe, "She rears back for what looks to be an easy shot and - OH MY GOOD NESS! Ladies and gentlemen, this is a first! Nyx has been taken out by a Bludger hit by Ravenclaw Beater Justin Clearwater!"  
Brenna had been looking over at Justin and saw that his eyes were closed and his arm was still in the follow through. When Wolfe announced Nyx's demise (Nyx was now hanging by her forefinger on her broom stick), he opened his eyes and gave a hoot of joy. Ravenclaw fans were going positively wild and Gryffindor was in complete shock; fan and players.  
"You better watch your back, Clearwater!" shouted Nyx, "YOU'RE NEXT!"  
All colour drained from Justin's face.  
While Nyx was shouting her threats and curses at Justin, Justin had taken the Quaffle. Brenna lay flat against her broom and hurtled down the pitch after him, where she was soon handed the Quaffle. Seconds later she scored.  
"And Ravenclaw scores!" shouted Wolfe.  
"Go Ravenclaw!" shouted Ron. Several Gryffindors shouted at him and only Hermione protected him from possible assailants.  
Nyx's eyes dangerously flashed yellow as she balled her free hand into a fist. "That's it!" she growled. She suddenly swung herself onto her broom with ease and sped past Harry on her way down the field, almost hitting him. "Hey!" he exclaimed, tottering uneasily on his Firebolt.  
"Gryffindor Chaser Black recovers quickly from her little nap and zooms down the field," stated Wolfe, "Looks like she's got her next target in mind and - oooh, that's gotta hurt! Looks like Quickle is down for the count!"  
"Oh my God!" screamed Cho, "Ashton!"  
Brenna watched as Ashton's limp body on the ground, his broom hovering patiently above him as if waiting for him to remount. Reluctantly, she turned her head away from Ashton and watched as Nyx handed the Quaffle off to Katie Bell. Clouds were now steadily growing darker and an angry rumble came from th sky.  
"Chaser Bell is now in possession and she heads to Ravenclaw Keeper Patil and she . . . . misses. Patil recovers and - whoa! There goes Chaser Joshua Davies, knocked out by a Bludger hit by - Nyx's broom?!"  
Dodging quickly, Brenna barely missed being hit by Joshua as he fell from him broom. It was not too soon after Joshua fell from the sky when the rain began to fall, and hard. From behind her, Brenna heard a vehement exclamation from Cho.  
"You're next, Clearwater!" shouted Nyx.  
Justin gulped and looked over at Cho for some kind of instruction.  
"Fly!" called Cho, "Fly out of her each!"  
Without hesitating, Justin flew in the opposite direction with Nyx hot on his trail. While NYx was going after Justin, Stewart took advantage of Nyx's absence. Since most everyone, including those a part of the match, were deeply enthralled in watching Nyx' pursuit of Justin, Stewart found a stray Bludger and took careful aim. He then swung, sending it directly towards Fred Weasley.  
"Fred, look out!" yelled George.  
Although it was obvious he didn't hear George, Fred managed to turn just in time to hit the Bludger out of his way in the opposite direction . . .  
. . . right square in the face of George Weasley.  
"Gryffindor Beater - er - Weasley has been taken out by his very own brother! Who'da thought that - Wait! It looks like Harry Potter has seen the Snitch!" exclaimed Wolfe.  
Indeed, both Cho and Harry had seen the Golden Snitch and both were speeding after it. Brenna looked over at Nyx and saw the familiar flash of yellow in her eyes. Anticipating her next move, Brenna zoomed over to where Nyx was and blocked her path of travel.  
"Outta my way, Ollivander!" growled Nyx. She quickly tried to push past Brenna, but instead of allowing her to just fly on by she grabbed a hold of Nyx's broom and swung her back around. Shocked, Nyx looked straight into Brenna's eyes. "Look, Ollivander, you'd better let go. I've left alone for a reason and it would be best if you'd do just the same."  
Brenna's stomach began to churn as she continued to keep a firm grip on Nyx's vibrating Firebolt. Her hair had plastered itself against her head but her grip on Nyx remained firm. "No, I wont. I WILL NOT watch you harm anymore of my teammates!" she shouted at her.  
Nyx stared at Brenna with a look of utmost loathing upon he face. "This is your last warning," she said in a deadly quiet tone, "LET. ME. GO!"  
Once agin, it felt as if her insides were changing themselves around. Brenna also felt the blood drain from her face. "No!" she said firmly, despite all the pain she was feeling at the very moment.  
A loud growl from Nyx vibrated through the air. She leapt off her broom at Brenna, ready to do some serious damage, but Brenna managed to duck and she fell from Nyx's grasp. Before Nyx could leap at her again, she heard the Gryffindor crowd shouting and cheering with joy.  
"Looks like this match is over, folks!" said Wolfe, "Harry Potter has caught the Snitch giving Gryffindor the victory! And just a reminder to all you sexy ladies out there, I - OUCH! Hey! Geroff!"  
Lee Jordan was now back to reclaim his position as commentator. His dread locks looked a bit dusty as if he'd been sitting in a closet for a few hours. He was now trying to rip the megaphone from Wolfe's hands. Both put up a very good fight, but Lee won in the end. Wolfe slunk away, defeated.  
Brenna knew that she had to get away, and fast. Without much hesitation she landed on the soggy ground and ran as fast as she could into the locker rooms, hiding her face from anyone who might be looking at her. She ran so fast it felt as if she were dodging rain drops. Once she was inside the locker rooms, she continued running. She ran past the hole in the wall, and the cubicles until she reached a dark corner of the locker room. Panting, Brenna closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, sliding herself down the wall and onto the floor. Moaning slightly as her appearance began to physically change, she began taking deep breaths, calming herself. Her nails had grown and her hair was becoming thick and coarse. Suddenly, she felt her insides settle and her panting became normal breathing.  
Wearily, Brenna stood back up and opened her eyes. Looking at her hands she saw they turned back to normal. She then felt her hair and realized it was back it's silky, but wet, state of being. With a sigh of relief she began to walk slowly back out onto the pitch, limping slightly. Outside the rain had stopped but the sky was as grey as it had been to begin with. The stands had emptied for the most part and she could see Thursday, Ron, Wolfe, and Hermione all crowded around Nyx, Padma, Cho, and Harry at the edge of the field. As if he'd been waiting for her, Ron turned and smiled at Brenna when she finally joined the group.  
"You all played a good match today," said Ron encouragingly.  
Scoffing, Brenna replied, "Yeah, well you did win."  
Wolfe, whom was being cooed at by Thursday, nodded. "That was an excellent move you pulled at the end there," he said.  
"Whatever," scowled Nyx. At the end of the match she had obviously calmed down, but everyone could tell she had a bruised pride. In fact, Brenna could tell that things would never be quite the same between them ever again.  
Cho looked like she was about to say something when Padma interrupted her. "What's Malfoy so happy about? Gryffindor won!"  
Sure enough, when they all turned around they could see Malfoy skipping past they and laughing with mirth. Fortunately, he didn't seem to notice Brenna or anyone else in the group looking at him. He continued going past on his way towards the castle.  
"Leave him be. At least he's not gloating near us," said Cho.  
"That creepy little Slytherin better stay away from us too," replied Ron.  
"Don't provoke him, Ron!" exclaimed Hermione, "Violence is not the answer."  
Ron rolled his eyes. "And this coming from a girl who slapped him in our third year!" he replied. Hermione blushed.  
"Well, we should get out of these Quidditch robes," said Harry as he tugged at his sodden apparel.  
Nyx, whom had been eying Brenna through slitted eyes again, simply grunted. This made Brenna nervous.  
"Uh, yeah, we should go too," said Brenna quickly, prodding Padma and Cho to follow her,"See you later!" She then began to walk away quickly causing Padma and Cho to jog so they could catch up, and leaving behind some fairly bewildered friends.  
  
Chapter ten. Yeah! It's done! FINALLY! Please review! 


End file.
